Behind bars but not silenced: Veteran Turkish columnist perseveres through 'prison journalism'

 Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli has been imprisoned, but his reporting remains defiantly alive.

From behind bars, the veteran journalist delivers news and sharp political commentary on his YouTube channel through letters relayed by his lawyers. The letters are read aloud by an assistant in an initiative Altayli's peers have dubbed "prison journalism."

"Fatih Altayli has launched a new form of journalism: prison journalism," fellow journalist Murat Yetkin, wrote on his news website, Yetkin Report. "Drawing on visits from legislators, letters, and his lawyers - he continues his journalism uninterrupted, conveying not only information from inside but also insights about the outside world."

Altayli, whose YouTube program attracts hundreds of thousands of views daily, was arrested in June on charges of threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an accusation he strongly denies. Critics say his arrest, which comes amid a deepening crackdown on the opposition, was aimed at silencing a government critic.

Prosecutors accuse Altayli of issuing and publicly disseminating a threat, a criminal charge under Turkish penal law, and are seeking a minimum five-year prison sentence. The first hearing of the trial is set for Friday.

The charges stem from a comment he made on his YouTube program, "Fatih Altayli Comments," following a recent 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 the show, Altayli said he wasn't surprised by the results 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."

The 63-year-old journalist, columnist and television presenter whose career spans decades, was detained from his home on June 21, a day after the comment was aired - and charged with threatening the president.

An empty chair takes center stage at a TV studio set. Photos: AP

The Istanbul Bar Association described the detention order against Altayli as unlawful, insisting that his comment did not constitute a "threat" and should be considered as freedom of expression.

The government-run Department for Combating Disinformation has responded to criticism over Altayli's arrest, insisting that issuing a threat is a criminal offense and denouncing what it described as a coordinated campaign to manipulate public opinion and present the alleged threat as freedom of expression.

Altayli has since turned his cell in the notorious high-security Silivri prison near Istanbul - now renamed Marmara Prison Campus - into a newsroom of sorts. He often writes commentary critical of the political climate that led to his imprisonment and shares news he gathers from a steady stream of visitors, including politicians and legal advisers.

The YouTube program, now rebranded as "Fatih Altayli Cannot Comment," opens with the journalist's empty chair. His assistant, Emre Acar, reads Altayli's letter out loud before a guest commentator, which has included journalists, politicians, academicians, actors and musicians, temporarily occupies the seat and delivers his or her views in a show of support.

Altayli's written commentaries, meanwhile, continue to be published on his personal website.

Yetkin said many had assumed that because of his privileged lifestyle, Altayli would bow to pressure.

"But Fatih didn't bow. I won't say he's maintained his line; he's elevated it. In my view, he's standing firmer than before," Yetkin wrote.

Altayli's "prison journalism" has included an interview with fellow inmate Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, who was arrested in March on corruption charges. That interview was conducted through written questions and answers exchanged through their lawyers. Altayli also gives news of other prominent prisoners at Silivri.

With a majority of mainstream media in Turkey owned by pro-government businesses or directly controlled by the government, many independent journalists have lost their jobs and 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.

Associated Press