Renowned Turkish journalist and writer Ahmet Altan was sent to jail on Tuesday evening one week after he was released from prison where he remained for more than three years on terrorism and coup charges, Turkish media reports said.
The 69-year-old Altan’s re-arrest came shortly after a Turkish court on Tuesday reversed a previous ruling to release the journalist on appeal after convicting him of aiding a terrorist organization.
The ruling was challenged by a prosecutor immediately after the hearing.
The court then issued a detention warrant for Altan, who was sentenced to 10 years, six months on Nov. 4. He was released from Silivri Prison on Nov. 5.
One of Turkey’s most famous writers and journalists, Altan was first arrested after a 2016 failed coup on charges of supporting the coup attempt.
Later, an İstanbul court handed down a life sentence to Altan along with five other defendants, including his brother Mehmet Altan.
Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the verdict sentencing him to life in prison.
Altan, a staunch critic of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has apparently angered the government with an article he wrote shortly after his release from prison. The article, titled, “I’m free but my friends still languish in Turkish jails,” attracted widespread attention in Turkey and was also published by prominent foreign newspapers.
In the article Altan talked about the innocent people in Turkey’s jails and the lack of a functioning judiciary in the country, which he said is under the absolute control of the government.
In his article Altan also wrote he knew it was possible that he might soon be re-arrested.