The wheels I threw a spanner into

İsmail Arı

I was detained in Tokat whilst visiting relatives on the day of the holiday. We were exchanging Bayram greetings, drinking tea and eating sweets in a crowded house when the police turned up at the door. Shortly afterwards, I learnt that they had organised a simultaneous operation to arrest me; police had turned up at the doors of all our relatives. As a result, I was once again arrested on a Bayram day and thrown into Sincan Prison, or rather, the Sincan Dungeon. My only crime is practising journalism in this country!

Held in prison on a charge without a sentence, I try to keep up with current affairs as best I can. As I follow the news, I see the cogs in the system that I’ve previously tried to disrupt.

I read the article by journalist Murat Ağırel published in Cumhuriyet on 11 April. I saw that he had outlined some details of the operation targeting Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. He stated that a man named Emin Adanur had made certain statements after benefiting from a plea bargain.

So, who is Emin Adanur? I have reported on him numerous times before. He was on trial for fraud, accused of failing to hand over homes to people from whom he had taken money under the pretence of providing housing. There were victims of Adanur. I listened to those victims on numerous occasions. He was even arrested at one point on the grounds that bailiffs had been assaulted. For a time, he also served as an advisor to Doğu Perinçek, the General Chairman of the Vatan Party. In short, Adanur’s story is a long one... Most recently, we heard his name when CHP member Mustafa Bozbey was arrested and, as a result, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality passed to the AKP. At one point, it was also reported that he had gone on the run.

Another issue that caught my attention in prison was the protests against AKP Iğdır MP Cantürk Alagöz’s mine in Giresun—or rather, the environmental devastation it caused. I reported time and again that Alagöz’s mining company had constructed illegal chemical waste ponds. I have written many times about how they have poisoned the Harşit Valley and its water sources, and in return, they were handed what were, quite frankly, laughable fines—mere pennies. This is one of the cogs in the machine I’ve been trying to jam.

After I was sent to prison, an operation was also carried out against the CHP-led Üsküdar Municipality. The CHP had taken Üsküdar, a symbol of Istanbul, back after many years with Sinem Dedetaş. As part of the operation, nine people, including the deputy mayor, were arrested. From what I’ve gathered from the newspapers whilst in prison, Mayor Sinem Dedetaş reacted to this operation by asking, “Was this council established just two years ago? Was nothing done here before that?”, thereby pointing the finger at the AKP era. This is another of the cogs I’ve stuck a spanner in!

Because I have been closely following the municipalities and municipal council decisions for years. Before Dedetaş, Hilmi Türkmen ran Üsküdar Municipality for many years. During Türkmen’s tenure, a manager of the Ensar Foundation became wealthy through municipal tenders. Türkmen signed a protocol with a foundation he managed. During that period, earthquake aid was distributed from the council’s warehouse, yet no demolition work was carried out in the area where a demolition order had been issued. In the trial where he was tried without detention, he shifted the blame to the “Istanbul Governor’s Office”. Why isn’t the Türkmen era being investigated? I believe a great deal would come to light if the AKP era were investigated. It would be enough even if only the tenders awarded to the Ensar Foundation executive were investigated!

On 15 April, a report in the Sözcü newspaper regarding the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) case caught my attention. Ali Kurt, the detained General Manager of KİPTAŞ, spoke in the İBB case and explained that “during the AKP era, flats were allocated without a lottery from KİPTAŞ to former and current AKP ministers”. And, of course, to MPs from the ruling party as well. This is one of the cogs I’ve stuck a spanner in. Look at my past reports; I’ve listed, name by name, the AKP members who secured ‘bargain’ flats. Yeliz got one too, as did the governor’s relatives. Is this fair now? Whilst citizens work for years and save money to buy a flat, a handful of people snapped up flats on the cheap. Because they are privileged, because they are AKP members! Again, on 15 April, in my newspaper BirGün, I saw a photograph of Nadira Kadirova, who died under suspicious circumstances, in a report about Gülistan Doku. Nadira Kadirova died under suspicious circumstances at the home of former AKP MP Şirin Ünal. I’ve covered countless stories over the past three years, yet Kadirova’s suspicious death remains unresolved. In short; journalism is about monitoring and scrutinising on behalf of the public. It’s also about sticking a spanner in the works of countless systems. That’s precisely why I’m in prison.

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‘WE DID NOT FEAR, OUR HEARTS NEVER TREMBLED’

The master of our profession, Uğur Mumcu, wrote in the Cumhuriyet newspaper on 25 August 1975: ‘Everyone is a witness that we did not fear, our hearts never trembled...’

I have been held in prison for weeks now—roughly one and a half months. To everyone who has protested my detention and flooded the prison with letters during this time, I send my heartfelt thanks… Those who are keeping me in prison are committing a crime. I repeat: my only crime is practising journalism in this country; yet I will not give up!

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Çomak soktuğum çarklar, published in BirGün newspaper on May 4, 2026.