We don't like goodbyes... Greetings to those who never sold their pens... Together on the same path

A year ago, we set out with the goal of being a new breath of air in Turkish media.

With strong belief and determination... 

We knew it would be very difficult.  

As we embarked on this journey, there were those who believed in us with all their hearts, those who put their hands—and even their bodies—to the wheel. 

Those who believed in us...

Those who produced news with faith without expecting anything in return, those who took risks, those who poured all their knowledge and experience into 12punto and the ideal of a bright Turkey... 

Mustafa Mutlu, who has courageously written the truth since the very first day 12punto existed, was at the forefront of these names. 

In my 25-year professional career, I had the privilege of being under the same roof as Mustafa Mutlu at 12punto. 

He crafted every article like embroidery, reflecting his soul in them. 

With his excitement and his speed in catching up with the agenda, he gave strength to us all. 

Despite all the pressure, Mustafa, who never once moved his pen for unprincipled demands, resisted pressure with a determination and courage that very few in the media sector today could understand. 

Throughout his 44-year journalistic life, he was constantly silenced for 23 of those years. 

They blocked his articles... They fired him. They tried to wear him down and intimidate him with nearly two hundred lawsuits. 

They tried to suppress him with compensation lawsuits. 

They persecuted not only him but also those who resisted working with him. They blocked his publications. 

And because Mustafa did not write in line with the wishes and interests of others, he chose to break his pen rather than sell it. 

As he stated in his first article for 12punto, "I chose to shrink rather than surrender or betray my principles. I am Mustafa Mutlu. I am a journalist of exactly 43 years. Those who know, know; I did not sell my pen... I stood tall. I shrank. I shrank so much that they even forgot my existence," he said. 

While his silent resistance continued for seven years, when he began to move his pen—which only writes the truth—again for 12punto, it gave us a special kind of courage and fortitude. 

Without discriminating, without protecting anyone, without veiling the facts, he wrote only the truth in its simplest form. 

And on that midnight when I personally published his first article for 12punto on October 6, 2023, when I read the lines, "I am Mustafa Mutlu. I am a journalist of exactly 43 years. Those who know, know; I am one of those types they call 'wouldn't hurt a fly.' You know; the kind they say 'hit him on the back of the neck and take his food'... Only... When it comes to my profession, I become a hawk. And my slap is heavy for those who speak ill of this country's founder and his principles!" I felt like a hawk myself. 

Starting today, Mustafa will continue his journey in another medium where he will proceed without deviating a millimeter from his principles. He will now address his readers from his column in Korkusuz. 

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have contributed to 12punto, for the courage and understanding you have instilled, and for what you have taught us, from the youngest to the most experienced among us, Mustafa... 

12punto is always with you... 

We know that you are also with 12punto, which you have raised with your own hands since the day it was born... We are all together, on the same path. 

Long live those who break their pens rather than sell them for the sake of their principles, and long live those who write with courage and faith...