The Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into journalist Ahmet Altan for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Altan was a guest on a TV program on Sept. 2, a day after police carried out a raid on the İpek Media Group in a government-orchestrated operation. Altan criticized the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and President Erdoğan on the program, which pro-government media outlets reported as threats against Erdoğan. Altan also condemned the raid on İpek and the government for conducting it.

The prosecutor’s office accepted the news reports as justification for an investigation of the journalist for insulting the president and the government, and for inciting people to hatred and hostility.

“The president violated the Constitution. Erdoğan broke the framework of the law. They [the AK Party] do not want [to hear] any opposing voices,” Altan had said on the TV program.

Altan also referred to Erdoğan’s previous remarks in which he said Turkey’s government has already been changed into a de facto presidential system and called for a constitutional framework to “finalize” this transition. “What does it mean to say that the system changed, de facto? Somebody please explain the legal framework of that to me. Changing the system is a crime, it is a coup,” Altan had said.