Istanbul prosecutors on Sunday asked a criminal judgeship of peace to order the pre-trial arrest of investigative journalist and BirGün columnist Timur Soykan, a day after he was taken into custody over a series of social-media posts that criticised police operations against opposition-run municipalities. Soykan was detained on 5 July under the charge of “publicly disseminating misleading information,” an offence introduced in Turkey’s new disinformation legislation. He spent the night at the Vatan police headquarters before being transferred to the Çağlayan Courthouse, where his statement was taken. During questioning he said, “If I am jailed, it will be obvious my tweets were accurate.” The request for his formal arrest triggered demonstrations by press unions and rights groups outside the courthouse, with Reporters Without Borders’ Turkey representative calling the case another attempt to silence political criticism. The court was expected to rule on the prosecutor’s request later in the day.