An İstanbul court on Friday ordered the release of investigative journalist Bahadır Özgür under judicial supervision, imposing a travel ban and a requirement that he report to authorities twice a week, after he was detained over his coverage of an alleged investment fund fraud case.
Özgür, a columnist and television commentator for the pro-opposition Halk TV broadcaster, was taken to the İstanbul Courthouse after spending the night in police custody. Prosecutors requested that a court impose a travel ban and regular reporting requirements. The court subsequently ordered his release under those conditions.
Özgür was detained on October 15 as part of an investigation by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities accused him of violating the confidentiality of an investigation through information shared on his X account, an offense covered by Article 285 of the Turkish Penal Code.
In his statement to police Özgür denied the allegation, saying his reporting did not contain any documents or information subject to a confidentiality order and was based on public statements by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek and prosecutors.
Özgür said his reporting concerned a list of 141 people identified by Gürlek as having made the largest profits in the investment fund controversy. He maintained that he had not disclosed the list itself and that the only person named in his report, former ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy chair Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, had already been publicly identified by authorities.
The journalist also said he had reported prosecutors’ clarification that 29 people had mistakenly been included on a list of individuals subject to precautionary financial measures.
Özgür’s lawyer, Mürsel Ünder, told the Evrensel newspaper on Friday that the investigation lacked a legal basis because the information published by his client had already appeared in other news reports or official statements. He argued that authorities should consider freedom of the press and the public’s right to information alongside the confidentiality of judicial investigations.
The Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), a Turkish digital rights organization, also reported that authorities had ordered access blocked to Özgür’s X account, which has approximately 163,000 followers. The platform had not yet implemented the order by making the account unavailable to users in Turkey when the restriction was announced.
The case follows legal action against other journalists covering the investment fund investigation. Journalists Şaban Sevinç and Mustafa Balcı were jailed pending trial on October 9 on charges of publicly disseminating misleading information, while journalists İsmail Saymaz and Murat Ağırel were subsequently placed under house arrest in connection with their reporting and commentary.
Ağırel was detained again on Friday in a separate investigation involving allegations of financial wrongdoing.
Özgür’s detention also came a day after Turkish authorities took control of Halk TV through state-appointed trustees on October 14, following a police raid on the broadcaster’s İstanbul headquarters that halted its live programming.
The takeover was part of a separate investigation into allegations of bribery, bid-rigging and money laundering involving Halk TV owner Cafer Mahiroğlu, who has denied wrongdoing. Opposition politicians and press freedom organizations condemned the intervention as an attack on independent journalism.
