Four Turkish journalists have been charged with aiding a criminal organization and publicly spreading false information in an indictment that also seeks up to 2,430 years in prison for jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Sözcü daily.
The nearly 4,000-page indictment targets the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was detained on March 19 and jailed four days later. It accuses İmamoğlu of offenses including running a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and bid rigging.
There are 402 suspects, 105 of whom are in pretrial detention, listed in the indictment.
Filed by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the indictment also accuses journalists Ruşen Çakır, editor-in-chief of Medyascope; Yavuz Oğhan, media adviser for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential campaign office; Şaban Sevinç, editor-in-chief of Bizim TV; and Soner Yalçın, founder of OdaTV, of “knowingly and willingly aiding a criminal organization without being part of its hierarchical structure” and “publicly disseminating misleading information.”
Prosecutors claim the journalists helped promote what they describe as the “İmamoğlu profit-driven criminal organization” through favorable reporting and commentary.
The document cites a secret witness statement alleging “financial ties and cooperation” with İmamoğlu advisers Emrah Bağdatlı and Murat Ongun, both of whom are in pretrial detention.
“The organization and its affiliates produced planned and coordinated media content for public relations purposes,” the indictment said. “In this context, the actions of Şaban Sevinç, Yavuz Oğhan, Ruşen Çakır and Soner Yalçın constitute the crime of knowingly assisting the organization without being part of its hierarchy.”
All four journalists have denied the allegations.
While Çakır said he did not know Bağdatlı and that “there has never been any exchange of money,” Oğhan described the accusations as “entirely baseless,” saying there was “no financial support whatsoever provided by Ongun.” Sevinç said his social media commentary reflected only personal professional judgment and Yalçın rejected the claims as slander, adding, “I have never practiced such dishonorable journalism in my life.”
The same group of journalists, along with two others, were summoned for questioning as part of the same investigation last week. They were interrogated at the İstanbul Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit and later released under a travel ban.
It was not indicated which specific articles, programs or social media posts are under scrutiny. Lawyers for the journalists said the case is built largely on anonymous witness testimony and politically motivated claims linking the reporters to İmamoğlu’s team.
The indictment marks a new phase in what observers describe as an unprecedented judicial campaign targeting the CHP and its affiliates.
İmamoğlu’s arrest in March on corruption charges triggered nationwide protests and has since been followed by dozens of arrests of opposition mayors, municipal employees and journalists.
According to a CHP report released in late October, 16 mayors from the party are jailed and 13 municipalities have been put under government-appointed trustees since its sweeping victory in the March 2024 local elections. The party describes the ongoing prosecutions as a “judicial coup” aimed at reversing its electoral gains.
The government denies political motivation, saying all investigations are being conducted in line with the law.
