An Istanbul court today approved the detention of Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli, one of the most popular political commentators, accused of threatening Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his lawyers said.
The journalist, arrested on Saturday evening, has 2,8 million subscribers on the Iks platform and more than 1,5 million on YouTube, where he hosts a daily show.
Commenting on a poll on Friday showing that around 70% of Turks would be against Erdogan's lifelong presidency, Fatih Altayli recalled that several Ottoman sultans were eventually "assassinated" or "drowned."
The prosecutor requested his detention, claiming that his comment threatened the Turkish president.
During the hearing, the journalist said that he had only presented the "historical context" without any threat, the media reported.
Erol Onderoglu, the representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Turkey, stated that Altayli's words were "taken out of context" and pointed out that "the mentality that sees journalists as enemies, intolerant of criticism, must stop."
RSF ranks Turkey 159th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom, between Pakistan and Venezuela.
Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014 before being elected president, Erdogan is constitutionally barred from running again after his term ends in 2028. However, calling early elections or constitutional reform could allow him to remain in power.
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