Turkish police detain journos from opposition network for 'influencing expert witness'

Turkish police detained three Halk TV figures, including journalist Barış Pehlivan, over allegations of "unlawfully influencing an expert witness." The detentions followed the broadcast of a phone call with the witness linked to cases targeting CHP mayors.

Wednesday January 29 2025 12:04 am

Duvar English

Turkish police on Jan. 28 detained three figures from the opposition news channel Halk TV shortly after an investigation into the channel for “attempting to influence an expert witness.” Journalist Barış Pehlivan, Halk TV Chief Editor Serhan Asker, and program host Seda Selek were detained from their offices in Istanbul and Ankara.

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office released a statement, saying the detentions "concerned an expert witness who was appointed in ongoing investigations and court proceedings,” and were under the charges of “recording and disclosing private conversations” and “attempting to influence an expert witness.”

Pehlivan on Jan. 27 broadcast a phone call with Satılmış Büyükcanayakın, an expert witness in the string of cases against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayors. According to the prosecutor’s office, the conversation was recorded and shared “without authorization.”

The office also held that Pehlivan disclosed the expert's name in a targeting manner, “with remarks attempting to influence the course of the trial.”

Under the Turkish penal code, any individual who records private conversations without authorization and discloses them can face two to five years in prison and up to 4,000 days of judicial fines. If such data is shared via media or press, the same penalties apply.

Attempting to unlawfully influence an expert witness, judge, or witness in a way that obstructs justice carries a penalty of two to four years in prison.

Before his detention, Pehlivan made the following remarks in front of his office building.

"I have been a journalist for 22 years and have faced over 100 investigations and more than 50 trials. During the AKP government, I have been imprisoned five times.”

He held that Halk TV was the first to extend a microphone to the expert witness at the center of a controversial lawsuit. “We shared their response with the public and refuted all of İmamoğlu's claims, just as pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak has done. Yet, we are the ones being taken to prison in handcuffs,” he continued.

“All I wanted was to give the person at the center of these allegations the right to respond to these accusations. Now there are police officers outside, and they’ve come to arrest me," he said.

What happened?

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu had accused expert witness Satılmış Büyükcanayakın of misconduct during a Jan. 26 press conference. Büyükcanayakın was a key figure in the string of lawsuits that resulted in the arrests of CHP district mayors Rıza Akpolat and Ahmet Özer.

An Istanbul public prosecutor has consequently launched an investigation into İmamoğlu’s remarks.