Prominent Turkish journalist appears before court over alleged threats to Erdogan

ISTANBUL (AP) — An imprisoned Turkish journalist appeared in court on Friday to defend himself against accusations that he threatened President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a case that critics view as an attempt to silence a prominent voice against the government.

Fatih Altayli, a veteran journalist whose YouTube program attracts hundreds of thousands of views daily, was detained from his home in June, and charged with issuing and publicly disseminating a threat against the president. He faces a minimum five-year prison sentence. Altayli, 63, strongly denies the accusation.

The charge was based on a comment he made on his program, “Fatih Altayli Comments,” following a poll that reportedly showed more than 70% of the public opposed a lifetime presidency for Erdogan, who has been in power for more than two decades.

On his program, Altayli said he wasn’t surprised by the result of the poll and that the Turkish people preferred checks on authority.

“Look at the history of this nation,” he said. “This is a nation which strangled its sultan when they didn’t like him or want him. There are quite a few Ottoman sultans who were assassinated, strangled, or whose deaths were made to look like suicide.”

In the opening hearing, Altayli rejected the accusation, saying he had consistently supported the vulnerable throughout his career and had no intention of making a threat. He urged the judges to watch his speech.

“In the more than 40 years of my professional life — and throughout my entire life — I have never threatened a single person, whether weaker or stronger than me,” the Sozcu newspaper quoted Altayli as telling the panel of judges. “On the contrary, I have always been the one threatened.”

The court rejected a request from lawyers for Altayli to release him from prison pending the outcome of the trial, and adjourned the case until Nov. 26.

Despite his incarceration, the journalist, columnist and television presenter whose career spans decades, has continued to deliver news and political commentary on his YouTube channel through letters relayed by his lawyers and read aloud by his assistant.

With a majority of mainstream media in Turkey owned by pro-government businesses or directly controlled by the government, many independent journalists have turned to YouTube for uncensored reporting.

A total of 17 journalists and other media sector workers, including Altayli, are currently behind bars, according to the Turkish Journalists Syndicate. The government insists the journalists face prosecution for criminal acts, not for their journalistic work.