An Istanbul court on Tuesday sentenced a veteran Turkish journalist to two years and six months in prison on charges of " spreading misleading information ", the journalist and the rights groups said.
The case against Zafer Arapkirli, a columnist for the opposition daily BirGun , stemmed from comments he posted on X about internal clashes in Syria following the 2024 overthrow of strongman president Bashar al-Assad. His posts referred in particular to deadly violence between Assad loyalists and forces aligned with Syria's new authorities in Alawite-majority villages.
Turkey, which backed the rebel offensive that toppled Assad, has since forged close ties with Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Addressing the court, Arapkirli denied the charges.
"Here, in the presence of the prosecutor, I want to report a more serious crime: dragging the public collectively into a deep darkness," he said, according to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
The court acquitted him of a separate charge of inciting hatred and enmity.
In a separate case, an Istanbul court acquitted journalist Sule Aydin while sentencing three others to prison terms over comments made during a 2024 television programme aired on opposition Halk TV discussing allegations about Turkey's trade with Israel.
Timur Soykan was sentenced to 10 months in prison on charges of "violation of confidentiality" while Murat Agirel and Baris Pehlivan each received one year and three months for "publicly spreading misleading information," MLSA reported. 'Our resistance will continue' In a phone interview with AFP , Arapkirli said he would appeal the court ruling although jail sentences of three years or less are rarely enforced in Turkey.
But they usually require those found guilty to appear at follow-up court hearings, which can result in heavy legal costs.
Authorities "are trying to create obstacles and restrict our work but our resistance will continue regardless," he said when asked what the sentence meant in practice.
The journalist described the situation as "an attempt to tie our hands and intimidate us - a form of suppression".
In 2022, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 's government passed controversial legislation making the dissemination of "misleading" information punishable by up to three years in prison.
The so-called "disinformation" law - branded the "censorship" law by Erdogan's critics - expands the reach of earlier media regulations to also cover online publications and social media platforms.
The United Nations at the time urged Ankara to ensure full respect for freedom of expression, saying the law leaves significant room for abuse. 'Systematic pattern' Arapkirli said: "I believe this is being turned into a systematic pattern. This is the most concerning aspect."
"When the law was introduced in 2022, authorities claimed it would not be used against journalists. In reality, however, it is now being used precisely against them".
Erol Onderoglu of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the court ruling, saying the sentence aimed to " purge a journalist of 42 years from his social role".
"Journalism cannot cease to be a dangerous profession unless the instrumentalisation of the law is put to an end," he wrote on X.
Turkey ranks 159th out of 180 countries in the latest RSF Press Freedom Index, between Pakistan and Venezuela.