Ismail Ari, a top investigative journalist known for his reporting on government corruption, organized crime and sex scandals involving Islamic fraternities, was formally arrested late Sunday on charges of spreading disinformation. Ari, 30, who writes for the left-wing opposition daily BirGun, has also focused his reporting on Bilal Erdogan, the younger son and rumored successor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ari was detained Saturday in his hometown of Tokat while visiting his family for the Eid, sparking loud protests within opposition circles. The move is the latest in a series of arrests of high-profile journalists who continue to engage in critical reporting despite a sustained government campaign to intimidate, defang and co-opt the media.

In a message to the public relayed through his lawyer, Ari said he was detained because of a video he appeared in three months ago. He said other videos and social media posts were being added to his file in a bid to “pad” it with further “incriminating” material. 

“Ari’s arrest is the latest in a pattern of detentions of journalists who are doing compelling investigative work on corruption, on matters that touch the family of the president, ministers and the judiciary,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director for Human Rights Watch, told Al-Monitor. "These tend to be journalists who already have had several investigations against them for their work and have been arrested and released in the past, but then find themselves arrested and placed in pretrial detention for months at a time," she said.