İsmail Arı
Journalist Fatih Altaylı, arrested on charges of making allegedly threatening remarks targeting AKP Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, appeared before the judge today (Wednesday, 26 November) for the second time.
The hearing is taking place in the Silivri courthouse.
The first hearing was held on 3 October. The court had ruled for continued detention and adjourned the trial to today.
Altaylı’s lawyers submitted their written defence against the prosecution’s opinion.
A verdict was expected in today’s hearing regarding Altaylı, who has been detained since 22 June.
ORTAYLI, ŞENGÖR AND BARDAKÇI ALSO ATTENDED
İlber Ortaylı and Celal Şengör, who frequently appear on Altaylı’s programmes, were also in Silivri to attend the hearing.
Historian and presidential adviser Murat Bardakçı likewise entered the courtroom.
CHP MPs Utku Çakırözer and Sezgin Tanrıkulu were also present.
HEARING STARTED
Fatih Altaylı entered the courtroom at 10:45 to applause.
Scheduled for 10:00, the hearing began with delay at 10:50.
President Erdoğan’s lawyer also attended the session.
The prosecutor repeated the main opinion submitted earlier, requesting that Fatih Altaylı be sentenced to no less than five years in prison for “threatening the president” and that his detention continue.
Erdoğan’s lawyer stated that they agreed with the prosecution’s request.
ALTAYLI: “WELCOME TO SİLİVRİ”
After identity checks, Fatih Altaylı began his defence. He started by saying “Welcome to Silivri” and continued:
“Welcome to Silivri… There are around four or five thousand police officers working at the Presidential Protection Department. I asked journalist friends to check whether the President’s schedule changed after my programme. Through my lawyers they sent it over, there was no change at all. There is nothing the President would fear or interpret as a threat in my remarks. I don’t have such influence. I am just a citizen standing before you. The President is not someone who gets scared and he would not fear a historical example. I think this is unfair both to me and to the President.
I find it unnecessary to be standing here when I should not be charged at all. It is clear there was no intent to threaten. I request my acquittal.”
ALTAYLI’S LAWYERS PRESENTED THEIR DEFENCE
After Altaylı’s statement, his lawyers took the floor. Lawyer Ömer Teker said:
“My client has been detained for 158 days. No evidence beyond what already exists has been added to the file. There is only one piece of evidence. There is no offence in terms of material elements. The idea that the President could have been frightened by my client’s words is absurd. I request his acquittal.”
Defences continued. Before the break, the final remarks came from Erinç Sağkan, President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB):
“Colleagues have already explained that Mr Altaylı’s words are not a threat. From day one, a few sentences have been taken out of context and pieced together. This opinion reflects the legal violations present from the start. Even if it had the meaning claimed by the prosecution, there is absolute impossibility. Both the material and mental elements of the offence are absent. There is no flight risk. This detention is unlawful and is a warning to the entire press. It has turned into punishment.”
After all defences, Altaylı gave his final remarks: “I fully agree with my lawyers. I request acquittal.”
4 YEARS 2 MONTHS IN PRISON AND CONTINUED DETENTION
The court announced its verdict: Fatih Altaylı was sentenced to 4 years 2 months in prison and his detention will continue.
He was removed from the courtroom by gendarmes on the grounds of “flight risk”.
The panel of judges, booed by the audience, left the courtroom quickly.
One observer turned to Murat Bardakçı, who attended in support of Altaylı, and said “Are you happy? Yours have won.” Bardakçı did not reply.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
In a YouTube broadcast, Fatih Altaylı had commented on public opinion regarding Erdoğan remaining in office for life.
In the video he said: “Should President Erdoğan remain president for life? Seventy percent of the public is against it. That’s not surprising because no one other than a large part of AKP voters and part of MHP voters supports such an idea. This nation once strangled its sultan. When they didn’t like him… There are many Ottoman sultans who were strangled, assassinated or said to have committed suicide.”
These remarks were targeted by presidential adviser Oktay Saral, who posted “Altaylıııı! Your water has begun to boil” while sharing a clip of the programme.
Altaylı was detained the same day and arrested the next day, then transferred to Silivri.
No verdict was reached in the first hearing on 3 October and the case was adjourned to today.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Fatih Altaylı davasında karar: 4 yıl 2 ay hapis ve tutukluluğa devam!, published in BirGün newspaper on November 26, 2025.
