The investigation concerns photographs Çıra posted on X on June 27 showing demonstrations against the July 7-8 NATO summit. Turkish authorities carried out sweeping operations ahead of the NATO summit, detaining scores of people, including journalists and blocking access to numerous X accounts. Turkey has seen a sharp decline in press freedom over the past decade, with journalists increasingly targeted through criminal investigations, prosecutions, detentions, online censorship and restrictions on news coverage. According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 22 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 163rd out of 180 nations.