German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) is calling for the release of its Turkish journalist, Alican Uludag, who was arrested and detained in Turkey on February 20th. Uludag, born in 1986, faces charges of "insulting" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stemming from a social media post on X approximately 18 months ago. This post reportedly criticized Turkish government actions that allegedly led to the release of ISIS terrorists and accused authorities of corruption. German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer deemed the accusations baseless and called for Uludag's immediate release, emphasizing that journalistic work is not a crime. Turkish journalist unions and associations have condemned the arrest, labeling Uludag as the latest victim of a trend criminalizing their profession, noting that information is now treated as disinformation and personal opinions as defamation. Turkey is ranked 159th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index.