German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) has condemned the arrest of its correspondent, Alican Uludağ, stationed in Turkey. Mr Uludağ was taken into custody on Thursday for allegedly “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, among other charges.

No fewer than 30 police officers surrounded Mr Uludaĝ’s home in Ankara to arrest him in the presence of his family members, DW disclosed in a statement on Friday. His devices were also seized.

At issue was Mr Uludag’s 2024 social media post criticising the Turkish government for mishandling a case that resulted in the release of suspected ISIS terrorists.

The Turkish government accused the DW correspondent of “disseminating misleading information to the public,” “insulting the president,” and “insulting the Turkish nation, state, and institutions.”

He is scheduled to stand before a magistrate’s court on Friday to respond to the state’s allegations.

DW Director General Barbara Massing rebuked the government, asserting Mr Uludağ’s corruption-exposing reports “make him dangerous to the government—in their eyes.”

She demanded his immediate release, excoriating Mr Erdoğan’s administration for deploying 30 officers to arrest a journalist, describing the move as an “act of intimidation.”

“The fact that a journalist is being treated like a serious criminal, taken away by thirty police officers, and brought directly to Istanbul serves as a deliberate act of intimidation and shows how severely the government is suppressing press freedom. Our colleague must be released immediately!” Ms Massing added.