Turkey's state-run news agency says a prominent investigative journalist has been formally arrested on charges of engaging in terrorist propaganda for a series of social media postings and articles.

Anadolu Agency says a court on Friday ordered Ahmet Sik, a strong government, jailed pending trial.

Sik, who works for opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet and was detained on Thursday, is only the latest Turkish journalist to be imprisoned. The Committee to Protect Journalists says Turkey held 81 journalists in jail as of Dec. 1, adding that it was the highest number the group has recorded in one country at any time.

Sik spent a year in prison in 2011 accused of being part of an alleged anti-government plot. The European Court of Human Rights later ruled his rights were violated.