ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court on Monday ordered veteran journalist Fatih Altaili to be released from prison pending the outcome of his appeal against his conviction for allegedly threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Atelli, 63, a longtime columnist whose YouTube show attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers a day, was sentenced last month to four years and two months in prison. He was arrested in June for threatening the president in a broadcast, a case that critics called an attempt to silence a prominent government opponent.
The regional appeals court ruled to release him, citing the absence of any flight risk, evidence already collected and the time he had spent in custody, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Altayli’s arrest stemmed from comments he made on his show “Fatih Altayli Commentary” in which he discussed a survey showing that more than 70% of the public opposed Erdogan’s tenure as president for life, which he has ruled for more than two decades. Atelli said he was not surprised by the results, noting that Turkish society favors checks on authority.
“Look at the history of this country,” he said. “The country strangled a sultan when it didn’t like or want him. There were quite a few Ottoman sultans who were assassinated, strangled, or had their deaths made to look like suicides.”
Altery strongly denied that his comments constituted a threat to Erdogan.
After his arrest, he continued to provide comments through letters forwarded by his lawyers, but later suspended the program.
Since most mainstream media in Türkiye are owned by pro-government corporations or directly controlled by the state, many independent journalists have turned to YouTube as a platform for uncensored reporting.