Ankara detains opposition daily BirGün’s executives
The BirGün newspaper’s executives Yaşar Gökdemir, Uğur Koç, and Berkant Gültekin have been detained due to a news report about Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.
Duvar English
On the evening of Feb. 8, Turkish authorities detained opposition daily BirGün’s online publication coordinators Uğur Koç and Berkant Gültekin, along with responsible director Yaşar Gökdemir.
The daily announced that its colleagues were detained on charges of "targeting individuals engaged in counterterrorism efforts."
BirGün’s Publishing Coordinator İbrahim Varlı stated on his social media account that the reason for the detention was a news report about a Sabah newspaper journalist’s visit to Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.
Varlı commented, "The reason is reporting on the pro-government Sabah journalist's visit to Akın Gürlek. But it was Sabah and the journalist himself who first announced the meeting."
Abdurrahman Şimşek, a journalist from the pro-government newspaper Sabah, quoted İbrahim Varlı's message, "Birgün referred to Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek as ‘mobile guillotine,’ directly making him a target for terrorist organizations. They also targeted me personally by claiming that, through my visit to Akın Gürlek, I was supporting operations against terrorist organizations in pro-government media.”
Şimşek claimed that his personal safety was at risk and BirGün was responsible for that.
“Mobile guillotine” has been first used by main opposition Republican People’s Party chair Özgür Özel against the megacity’s prosecutor who has been overseeing various investigations against the party’s senior figures and mayors.
Criticizing the detention of three journalists, Özel stated, “The mobile guillotine in Istanbul has once again targeted journalists in a panic to hide the lawlessness that has been exposed.”
On Feb. 6, a Turkish prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation seeking up to seven years in prison and a political ban for main opposition’s Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu for “insulting,” “threatening,” and “targeting” Istanbul prosecutor Gürlek.
In November 2024, The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office also launched an investigation into Özel, for his remarks about Gürlek.