Deutsche Welle Türkçe reporter Alican Uludağ was taken into custody on July 21, 2026, after sharing a post on the social media platform X. Uludağ posted on X that he was being detained before being brought to the Ankara public prosecutor's office. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation under Articles 216 and 217/A of the Turkish Criminal Code.
Uludağ had spent roughly 90 days in pretrial detention at Silivri prison following a February 2026 arrest on charges of insulting the president, spreading misleading information, and denigrating Turkey. He was released on the first day of his trial in May 2026, with the next hearing scheduled for September 18.
DW Director General Barbara Massing called the detention "deeply alarming". Germany's minister of state for culture, Wolfram Weimer, dismissed earlier charges as "baseless". The Turkey Journalists' Association expressed concern over the second detention.