Operation for journalists: Questioning begins

The pressure on opposition politicians and the media continues unabated. Once again, the questioning of journalists, who were taken to the police headquarters accompanied by police officers without any detention order against them, has begun.

As part of the investigation conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the detained Mayor of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, proceedings were initiated against six journalists on allegations of ‘publicly spreading false information’ and ‘aiding a criminal organisation’.

Acting on the instructions of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, journalists Soner Yalçın, Şaban Sevinç, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, Ruşen Çakır, Yavuz Oğhan and Batuhan Çolak were summoned for questioning.

First, Şaban Sevinç and CHP Communications Coordinator Yavuz Oğhan were taken to the Financial Crimes Unit of the İstanbul Police Headquarters to be questioned.

As part of the operation carried out around 06:00, Sevinç and Oğhan's statements will be taken by the Financial Crimes Unit at the Istanbul Police Headquarters. Sevinç and Oğhan's mobile phones were also confiscated.

Meanwhile, it was learned that journalist Soner Yalçın and Aykırı Editor-in-Chief Batuhan Çolak were also taken to the police station by police teams to be questioned.

The questioning of the journalists, who have been held at the police headquarters since the morning, has begun.

STATEMENT FROM THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

In a statement issued by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was announced that journalists Soner Yalçın, Şaban Sevinç, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, Ruşen Çakır, Yavuz Oğhan and Batuhan Çolak had been summoned for questioning as part of the investigation into the detained Ekrem İmamoğlu.

It was noted that the journalists would be questioned at the Istanbul Police Headquarters on allegations of ‘publicly disseminating false information’ and ‘aiding a criminal organisation’.

The statement from the Chief Prosecutor's Office included the following:

"As part of the investigation conducted by our Chief Prosecutor's Office into the criminal organisation established for the purpose of benefiting İmamoğlu, suspects Soner YALÇIN, Şaban SEVİNÇ, Aslı AYDINTAŞBAŞ, Ruşen ÇAKIR, Yavuz OĞHAN and Batuhan ÇOLAK have been summoned to the Istanbul Police Headquarters to give their statements regarding the charges of publicly disseminating false information and aiding a criminal organisation. The questioning will take place at the Police Headquarters. This is announced to the public."

RUŞEN ÇAKIR: THEY HAVEN'T TAKEN ME YET

Journalist Ruşen Çakır, who was summoned for questioning, stated in a social media post at 09:08 that he had ‘not been detained.’ Çakır wrote that journalist Aslı Aydıntaşbaş was also in the US.

Quoting a post claiming that he had been detained, Çakır said: ‘I'm sorry, but they haven't taken me yet. As far as I know, Aslı is also in the US.’

LAWYER ERSÖZ: DE FACTO DETENTION

Lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz made a statement regarding the journalists being ‘taken to the police station for questioning.’

Ersöz said:

"Journalist Yavuz Oğhan was taken from his home by the police at 6:45 a.m. in a manner that we could call “de facto detention”, which is not called “detention” but has been frequently seen recently. No search was conducted at Yavuz Oğhan's home. He was informed that he would be taken to the Istanbul Police Headquarters to give a statement. When we requested to meet with him through his lawyer, we were told that “the operation was ongoing and we could meet with him in an hour”. We learned that a similar explanation was given to Şaban Sevinç's lawyer. This situation may imply that similar practices are being applied to other journalists/individuals. We are currently still waiting. Whether he will be referred to the prosecutor's office after his statement to the police will become clear in the coming hours.

AKŞAM NEWSPAPER WROTE

The Akşam newspaper claimed that the press advisor to the detained İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, ‘Media A.Ş. President Murat Ongun, financed some journalists.’

The front-page report in the Evening Newspaper alleged that ‘Murat Ongun provided financial support to various journalists and that these payments were made through Emrah Bağdatlı.’

The report mentioned the names of Batuhan Çolak, Şaban Sevinç, and Yavuz Oğhan, who were taken to give statements accompanied by police today.

Yavuz Oğhan denied the allegations in a statement on his social media account:

"Akşam Newspaper has published something under the headline “ "İmamoğlu Media Inc.”. They claim I met with Murat Ongun 20 times and Emrah Bağdatlı 6 times! As they say, may Allah protect us from false accusations, that's exactly what this is. I have never seen Emrah Bağdatlı in my life, I don't know him. And Murat Ongun took me to meet Nevşin Mengü. That's also a blatant lie. The three of us were never together. The intention is clear, but no one will benefit from this. I will file a criminal complaint."

Source: Gazetecilere sabah operasyonu: İfade işlemleri başladı