15.11.2026 15:10
The Board of Heads of Criminal Chambers of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice overturned the appellate decision that upheld the sentence of 4 years and 2 months in prison given to journalist Fatih Altaylı for his remarks directed at President Erdoğan. The Board ruled that whether the remarks were capable of seriously intimidating their addressee had not been sufficiently discussed, and unanimously decided to re-examine the case file.
The Board of Heads of Criminal Chambers of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice (BAM) overturned the decision of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice (BAM) 2nd Criminal Chamber to reject on the merits the appeal against the sentence of 4 years and 2 months in prison imposed on journalist Fatih Altaylı for his remarks directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Board of Heads of Criminal Chambers of the Istanbul BAM ruled that “whether Altaylı's words were capable of seriously frightening and worrying their addressee was not sufficiently discussed by the court of first instance,” and decided that the case file be re-examined.
The Istanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court had sentenced Fatih Altaylı to 4 years and 2 months in prison for the crime of threat in a case brought over his remarks directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a video published on his YouTube channel. After Altaylı's lawyers objected to the decision, the Istanbul BAM 2nd Criminal Chamber, which examined the case file, rejected the appeal on the merits and upheld the conviction.
CHIEF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE REQUESTED AN ACQUITTAL
The Istanbul BAM Chief Public Prosecutor's Office applied for an objection in favor of Altaylı. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office argued that Altaylı's speech should be evaluated as a whole and that the words did not constitute the legal elements of the crime of threat. In the objection, it was emphasized that while giving historical examples regarding the killing of Ottoman sultans and assassinations, Altaylı made a correction with the phrase “let us not call it an assassination, but rather one who fell victim to a plot.” It was stated that in the speech it was explained that 70 percent of survey participants did not hate Erdoğan but were against his serving as president for life.
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office noted that Altaylı's words were not aimed at unsettling, seriously worrying, or frightening the President, and that he did not act with the intent to threaten, and that an acquittal decision should be issued.
THE ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME OF THREAT WERE NOT SUFFICIENTLY DISCUSSED
The Istanbul BAM 2nd Criminal Chamber did not find the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's objection justified. Thereupon, the case file was sent to the Board of Heads of Criminal Chambers of the Istanbul BAM.
In its examination, the Board emphasized that “for the crime of threat to be constituted, the words uttered must be objectively capable, sufficient, and appropriate to create serious fear.” The Board stated that “for a threat to constitute a crime, it is not necessarily required that the words actually create fear in their addressee, but the words must carry the quality of a serious threat from the perspective of an average person.”
In the Board's decision, it was stated that “there is no doubt that Altaylı's words were directed at the President, but whether these words were objectively capable of unsettling, seriously worrying, and frightening their addressee was not sufficiently discussed in the first-instance court's decision.”
THE CASE FILE WILL BE RE-EXAMINED
The Board of Heads of Criminal Chambers of the Istanbul BAM accepted the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's objection with a unanimous decision that is final. The Board overturned the decision rejecting the appeal on the merits and sent the case file to the Istanbul BAM 2nd Criminal Chamber for re-evaluation.