Overview
- An Istanbul court imposed a four-year, two-month prison term, and the ruling has not yet become final.
- Prosecutors based the case on a YouTube commentary in which Altayli cited polling against a lifelong presidency and referenced past sultans being strangled, which he says was historical context rather than a threat.
- Altayli has been jailed since his June arrest and remains held in Istanbul’s Silivri prison.
- Reports from a rights group and Turkey’s state news agency confirm the sentence and the court’s flight-risk rationale.
- The case has drawn broad attention in Turkey, with his show airing an empty chair and letters from prison, and it is being viewed against the country’s low press-freedom ranking by Reporters Without Borders.