Unlawful accusations against journalists and Nagehan Alçı

In the indictment against Ekrem İmamoğlu and 406 other individuals, journalists Ruşen Çakır, Soner Yalçın, Şaban Sevinç, and Yavuz Oğhan are listed as "suspects."

Yet, they had been detained only five days before the indictment was announced. Given that the indictment had been in preparation for months, it is clear that the decision to label them as "suspects" was made long ago, and the legal procedure was merely completed at the last minute. As far as I can see, the accusations are entirely related to their journalistic activities.

Secondly, it is unjust that the names of some journalists who are not "suspects" were included in the indictment based on a secret witness statement, labeling them as "journalists constantly financed by Murat Ongun." We can debate this relationship in terms of professional ethics, as it is not a crime. However, including these unverified statements—which the accused journalists themselves deny—in an indictment amounts to smearing these journalists through the judiciary. Unfortunately, the pro-government media also participated in this smear campaign.

Thirdly, the treatment of journalist Nagehan Alçı is also unfair. Alçı's name appears in the "effective remorse" statement of a driver named Servet Yıldırım; this individual claims that Alçı met with Murat Ongun in a hotel room. While this might be a subject for professional ethical debate, it can never be a crime, and indeed, Alçı is not among the "suspects."

You may recall that the Ergenekon indictments also contained such violations of private life unrelated to any crime. A completely private phone conversation between a female journalist and her boyfriend, and even a pasta recipe discussed over the phone by another journalist, were included in the indictment.

At that time, the judiciary was used as a tool for discreditation, and the media supported those efforts. Unfortunately, the media once again jumped on the sentences in the indictment mentioning Nagehan Alçı without regard for privacy or anything else. Yeniçağ reported, "Nagehan Alçı's name also appeared in the IMM indictment." Journalist Sabahattin Önkibar went even further, attempting to question "why she met in a hotel instead of his office" with various insinuations, acting as a "moral guardian."

Seeing this attitude, which does not befit journalism, I could not remain silent; I asked Nagehan Alçı, and she gave the following response:

"That was not a hotel room; it was a place they used as an office for meetings. The claim that I went there for 5-6 hours is a lie; it was at most 1-2 hours. Many people were met there; other people were present as well. If I had known that the place presented as an office was a room rented by the driver, I would never have met there, but there was always activity there whenever I went. It was truly an office environment; it was not a hotel room or a residence apartment.

As a journalist, such a distortion regarding a meeting held in an office environment to obtain information is very ugly and unethical. I have only had meetings with Ekrem İmamoğlu and his team for journalistic purposes."

Even if we do not agree with Alçı's views as a journalist and sometimes criticize her, we must be able to defend her right to privacy and respect her right to the presumption of innocence. The law is needed for journalists, just as it is for everyone else...

Details from Akın Gürlek's meeting

In the spot of Yeni Şafak's headline "CHP gave, IMM leaked," it was written regarding CHP IT manager Orhan Gazi Erdoğan that "... he was detained in the morning hours, and then arrested."

However, such a sentence was not in the first editions on November 7; the words "and then arrested" were added to the central print editions during the night. Yet, at the time the newspaper was distributed in this form, Orhan Gazi Erdoğan was still only detained; he was arrested hours later, toward the evening!

Reporter Burak Doğan, who had a byline on the news that announced the arrest hours in advance, was on the front page of Yeni Şafak again on November 11. In the news titled "4,000-page indictment for the heist of the century," it was stated that "Yeni Şafak has reached the details of the indictment prepared by 8 prosecutors."

Burak Doğan shared a photo from the courthouse on social media at 10:30 that morning. He had only written "sa" (a common Turkish abbreviation for 'selamün aleyküm'); he was likely implying he was at the prosecutor's office. By coincidence, shortly after, an announcement was made to the WhatsApp group of courthouse reporters that Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek would hold an information meeting.

It was not difficult for reporters who saw Yeni Şafak's headline to guess that the subject of the meeting was the indictment against Ekrem İmamoğlu and CHP members. Within minutes, news reports stating that "Gürlek will announce the İmamoğlu indictment" were published on news sites.

Dozens of journalists who saw these reports rushed to the courthouse. However, it was said that only courthouse reporters would be admitted to the meeting; the reporters who run around that building every day also wanted this. Among them, in addition to the pro-government media, were reporters from ANKA, Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, and T24. But Burak Doğan could not enter the press conference because he did not have a "courthouse reporter card."

Gürlek's press conference was not the first; prosecutors had previously held similar "information meetings" at the Istanbul Courthouse. Gerçek Gündem writer Seyhan Avşar, a former courthouse reporter, was among those who could enter the meeting. Avşar had not yet received her courthouse card, but she was able to get permission because she had started going to the courthouse regularly again.

Apart from her, Yusuf Aydın, who is not a journalist but introduces himself as an "investigative writer" and "individual space" manager, and who is known for his arrival at the CHP Istanbul Provincial building in Gürsel Tekin's vehicle on the day of the incident, was also able to enter. During the meeting, when the journalists who were defendants were mentioned, Aydın said to the Chief Prosecutor, "Is it only Şaban (Sevinç)?" He interrupted frequently throughout the meeting.

The natural result of not admitting all the journalists who arrived was that the questions directed at Gürlek remained limited to technical details regarding the content of the indictment. The only different question was from Seyhan Avşar, regarding the reason why the expert report on the tenders given by the AKP-run Elazığ Municipality to Aziz İhsan Aktaş—which Alican Uludağ had brought to the agenda—was not included in the indictment. Gürlek replied that there was no such report. No questions could be asked about criticisms that the case was political, or about issues such as Gürlek's board membership at Eti Maden, which was brought up by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel.

What was surprising was that while 28 journalists were trying to get information about the indictment in the hall, the text of the indictment began to spread outside. As expected, the pro-government media reported on the indictment with biased language, embodied in Sabah's headline "The biggest corruption in history"; they presented the accusations as if they were finalized without even using the word "allegation."

Just like during the investigation process, they narrated the accusations without ever mentioning the suspects' defenses. The opposition media, on the other hand, chose to report it entirely as a "political memorandum, not an indictment" without going into the accusations; they published examples of the distortions in the indictment.

The most correct approach is to examine the indictment with an objective eye and to carefully convey the defenses...

Record in November 10 advertisements

On November 10, the front pages of the newspapers were filled with news commemorating Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the inner pages were filled with memorial advertisements.

Milli Gazete, Milat, and Yeni Asya did not include any news about the commemoration of Atatürk on their front pages or inside. Of course, Yeni Akit was published with a headline opposing the commemoration of Atatürk this year, as it is every November 10. In Türkiye newspaper, Prof. Dr. Ekrem Buğra Ekinci commemorated Atatürk with negative connotations in his article titled "Alaturka music is being banned."

The newspaper that received the most memorial advertisements this November 10 was Türkgün, the publication organ of the MHP. Türkgün, which received about five pages of Atatürk memorial advertisements, was followed by Akşam, Dünya, Ekonomi, Hürriyet, and Posta newspapers with 4 pages of advertisements each. Aydınlık, Cumhuriyet, and Sabah newspapers published approximately 3 pages each; Sözcü, Türkiye, and Yeni Şafak approximately 2 pages each; and BirGün, Karar, Korkusuz, and Nefes published approximately 1 page of Atatürk memorial advertisements each.

No memorial advertisements were given to Evrensel and Yeniçağ, which published news about the Atatürk commemoration day on their front pages.

The institution that gave the most memorial advertisements on November 10 was, by far, Türk Telekom. On November 10, a full-page advertisement titled "We commemorate with gratitude and appreciation" by Türk Telekom was published on the back page of 21 newspapers. Except for Cumhuriyet, they were all pro-government media newspapers.

Pegasus Airlines also organized a special tour for journalists "to commemorate the Çanakkale martyrs" on November 10. After the memorial ceremony at the airport, they flew to Çanakkale with the "Republic" plane, flight number "1881." Pegasus had also organized a special flight to Thessaloniki last year. Sightseeing tours were organized after the memorial ceremonies, but there was no journalistic activity involved.

The mouse in the market

In the footage shared first by the news site "Everything about İnegöl" and then by "Food Detective" on Instagram, a mouse wandering in the produce section of a market was nibbling on a cabbage. After the footage of the mouse in the market in the İnegöl district of Bursa spread, municipal police teams inspected the market, issued a fine, and had the vegetables the mouse had touched collected.

This incident was published on numerous news sites, including Haberler, Son Dakika, Sözcü, and Ortadoğu, with headlines such as "Stomach-churning image in three-letter market chain" or "Mouse in three-letter market." The name of the market was not given in these reports either.

However, "Food Detective" gives the name "Şok Market"; it said, "A new one has been added to the mouse scandals we have published before in Şok stores, this time in İnegöl."

The fact that where the incident took place was not written is a major deficiency. The market name is one of the fundamental elements in this news. There is no legal or ethical justification for hiding the name. Moreover, by not stating that the location was "Şok Market," other "three-letter" markets are left under suspicion. Furthermore, by hiding the market name, instead of warning the people of İnegöl against the hygiene problem in the market, the interests of the market owner are protected.

In a single sentence:

After the arrest of Merdan Yanardağ, the employees of Tele 1, which was seized and whose news broadcasting was stopped before the trial even began, launched Tele 2 in the digital sphere.

In the news reports of BirGün, CNN Türk, Diken, Gazete Pencere, Karar, Milliyet, NTV, Türkiye, and Yeni Şafak regarding the death of three people by poisoning, it was not stated that the incident occurred at the Harbour Suites Hotel; the name of the hotel was not given.

A construction company invited journalists from Akşam, Dünya, Ekonomim, Habertürk, Hürriyet, Patronlar Dünyası, Sabah, and Türkiye to Bucharest to show the metro, tunnel, and highway projects it undertook in Romania.

The fact that the relatives of the 6 women who died in a fire at a perfume workshop in Dilovası did not allow the Kocaeli Governor and the Mayor to attend the funeral ceremony was not reported in the pro-government media.

Zafer Party Deputy Chairman M. Ali Şehirlioğlu prevented T24 reporter Can Öztürk from watching the hearing by removing him from the courtroom during Orkun Özeller's hearing.

Galatasaray announced that it had decided to impose an accreditation ban on reporters in response to Milliyet's news titled "This fire will not go out by blowing on it."

Yeni Şafak published a full-page promotion of the AKP-run Ümraniye Municipality without adding a warning that it was an advertisement.

FOR YOUR CRITICISMS, COMPLAINTS, AND SUGGESTIONS: [email protected]