Turkish prosecutors ordered six journalists to give statements to the police as suspects in an investigation linked to jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish Minute reported on Thursday.
According to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the journalists are accused of “spreading false information publicly” and “aiding a criminal organization” in connection with reporting on what prosecutors call the “İmamoğlu criminal network.”
The journalists are Ruşen Çakır, editor-in-chief of Medyascope; Yavuz Oğhan, media advisor at the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential campaign office; Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a former columnist for Milliyet and a fellow at the Brookings Institution; Soner Yalçın, founder of OdaTV; Batuhan Çolak, editor-in-chief of Aykırı; and Şaban Sevinç, editor-in-chief of Bizim TV.
Authorities have not specified which articles, broadcasts or social media posts are under investigation.
Some of the journalists were taken from their homes by police and brought to the İstanbul Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit on Thursday morning.
Lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz said the summons were based on testimony from a secret witness.
Oğhan and Sevinç were released after questioning, though police confiscated their phones.
Oğhan described the situation as “an arbitrary incident.”
Sevinç said he was questioned about some of his social media posts and TV comments and told reporters that a secret witness accused several journalists of receiving regular payments from İmamoğlu’s media advisor, Emrah Bağdatlı.
He denied any such payments and called the accusation slanderous.
Prosecutors said the journalists’ statements were requested as part of an inquiry into “financial ties and cooperation” with İmamoğlu’s media team, including Bağdatlı and press advisor Murat Ongun, both of whom are under arrest.
Pro-government media previously claimed Ongun had financed several journalists, allegations that were publicly denied.
The journalists have filed legal complaints against the Akşam newspaper, which first published the claims.
CHP leader Özgür Özel condemned the investigation, saying the government is “organizing fear and expanding threats” to remain in power.
He said, “Light will prevail over darkness. The brave will prevail over the fearful.”
CHP deputy leader Burhanettin Bulut called the operation “a clear attempt to intimidate the entire opposition and silence the free press.”
The Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) described the move as part of a “smear campaign,” saying, “Journalists inform the public. These fake detentions are a policy of defamation. We reject it. Journalism is not a crime.”
The latest detentions deepen the crackdown surrounding İmamoğlu’s case, which prosecutors call Turkey’s “biggest corruption investigation in a century.”
