The 'July 15 hero' arrested in an 'Internal Party Matter' operation!..

Last Tuesday, an operation by the Muğla Police Department targeting local media members became the subject of news reports.

The reason for the operation was the allegation that the suspects had committed the crimes of "insulting a public official, unlawful acquisition of personal data, violation of the privacy of private life, and publicly disseminating misleading information to the public" through a fake social media account. Later, the charge of "insulting the President" was added to this list.

Just as notable as the fact that the leading suspects were journalists and that an operation was even conducted on an IHA (İhlas News Agency) bureau were the complainants; there were numerous names ranging from the Governor of Muğla to certain bureaucrats, and from AKP Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayoral Candidate and former MP Aydın Ayaydın to various party officials.

Just three days before this operation on January 20, it had been announced that Aydın Ayaydın's nephew had been detained as part of a drug investigation targeting celebrities.

Following the detention of the journalists, these two events were linked, and the question was raised: "Is this an Aydın Ayaydın operation in Muğla?"

BOTH SIDES ARE AKP MEMBERS

We know what happens to those trying to practice journalism across the country and what they are accused of, so after every detention or arrest, I was thinking about how our colleagues in the local areas work/can work under these conditions. On this occasion, I followed the file in Muğla. I paid particular attention to the application of the four-day detention period.

First, wondering why the detention period was kept so long even though all their digital devices were seized, I called the relatives of one of the suspects. The answer I received was:

"It's an internal party matter. That's why we don't want it to be reported as news right now."

In the end, two journalists who do not hide their closeness to the AKP among the detained suspects, Ruhi Kürşat Keskin and Cemal Demirtaş, along with Serap Ülkü Özdemir, who was an AKP parliamentary candidate nominee in the 2023 elections, were referred to the Criminal Court of Peace with a request for arrest.

The Criminal Court of Peace decided to arrest Keskin and Demirtaş on the grounds of "incident reports, findings that the suspects had wiped their digital evidence and performed new installations on their phones before the operation, HTS records showing they had met before the operation and were caught at addresses other than their residences, the fact that examinations of documents and digital devices are still ongoing, the possibility of evidence being tampered with, and the statements of witnesses."

Serap Ülkü Özdemir, however, was released with the judicial control measure of house arrest due to having a young child in need of care, "considering the best interests of the child."

Let's look at what is in the file and what the suspects were asked.

It is seen that the Marmaris Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requested the operation, the request was sent to the Muğla Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the same day and then to the Criminal Court of Peace, and the decision was made on the same day. It is also noted that particular attention was drawn to Ruhi Kürşat Keskin, with requests for searches everywhere, including his motorcycle, and for "the seizure of criminal elements and evidence to be found," while a decision was also made to "notify the victims harmed by the crime of the seizure process without delay."

As for the police statement of Ruhi Kürşat Keskin, who works as a journalist at the Marmaris Haber website and is a 50% partner of the site;

He stated that he had nothing to do with the Facebook accounts subject to the investigation and did not know who used these accounts. Regarding those accounts, when asked, "Did you make the post on November 1, 2025, containing the image of our 'almond-mustached' leader regarding the President, or do you know who did?" he replied, "I did not do it, and I do not know who did."

Some of the 62 questions directed at Keskin were as follows:

- "Do you know those who liked the posts made from the account named .... and on Facebook?"

- "It has been evaluated that the pictures of our President Erdoğan in the post made from the Facebook account named Serap Ülkü and the post made from the Instagram account with the handle aydin ayaydın-48 are the same, that in the post made on the Facebook account named Serap Ülkü, President Erdoğan appears to be looking at Serap Ülkü, that the user may have evaluated themselves with the expression of a satisfied person, and may have targeted and aimed to discredit the AK Party Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayoral Candidate Aydın Ayaydın with the expression of dissatisfaction; do you have any information about these posts, please explain."

- "What is your purpose for being in the villa in Seydikemer with Cemal Demirtaş? Did you go to this villa for the purpose of escaping or hiding from a crime?"

- "In the preliminary examination of your seized mobile phone, it was determined that all files were created on January 18. Did you perform a formatting/wiping process on the device in question? It is understood that the individuals named Cemal Demirtaş and Serap Ülkü, with whom you were caught, also performed the said processes on their phones, and this situation has been evaluated as contrary to the ordinary flow of life. Is the purpose of these changes on your mobile phones to destroy criminal evidence? Did anyone give you instructions on this matter?"

Ruhi Kürşat Keskin stated that he saw most of the posts asked about for the first time there, that he did not know the people who liked them, that he went to Seydikemer to meet with an AKP MP's advisor and for some programs, that he was using this phone because he had lost his previous one, that he was trying to recover his deleted pictures on January 18 but could not, and that he had no knowledge of the operations on the phones of Cemal Demirtaş and Serap Ülkü, saying, "There is definitely no crime or criminal involved. Therefore, there is no such thing as destroying evidence. I did not receive instructions from anyone."

Keskin was also asked about posts regarding changes in the AKP provincial and district administrations and some bureaucrats; he stated that he made the news as a journalist.

When asked about the names appearing as complainants in the file, he explained that some were advisors to AKP Muğla MP Kadem Mete and some were former AKP district chairs, and he frequently referred to the previous term's AKP Muğla MP Yelda Erol Gökçen.

'HE IS SO CLOSE TO THE PRESIDENT'

Ruhi Kürşat Keskin said the following at the Criminal Court of Peace, where he was referred with a request for his arrest:

"I was referred for arrest on the grounds of flight risk, but the reason I could not be found at my residence is that I went to Fethiye for a tour program. The vehicle I went in has a GPRS device, and my phone was on. I have green and gray passports. If I had the intention to flee, there are ferries from Marmaris to Rhodes twice a day. I could have boarded one and left. I was continuing my normal life because there was no search or arrest warrant against me. Furthermore, I had a ticket for the Galatasaray match for my daughter for the day after I was caught. If I had the intention to flee, I would not make such plans. There is no situation that would require me to flee. I have no connection with the accounts and posts in question. Only the posts I accepted from my own account belong to me. The Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts with blue ticks in my name are my own accounts. I have definitely not made any posts containing insults to the President. On the contrary, I have photos with the President and I have shared them."

Keskin's lawyer stated that there was absolutely no question of insulting the President, saying, "He is not even the last person in Muğla who would commit this crime. Every time our President comes to Marmaris, my client goes to the Presidential Complex even before us, who are party officials, and waits for a long time to get inside. This situation can also be seen from the photos in the file. The social media account subject to the file continued its posts while my client was in custody. This alone is proof that he has no connection to it."

The other suspect, journalist Cemal Demirtaş, made the following defense:

"It is impossible for me to insult the President. I have been involved in politics within the AK Party for 24 years. While having the same political views, it is impossible for me to accept the allegation of insult. Since I am also a columnist, I make political criticisms. However, there is never any criminal content in these criticisms. I know that there are segments that are uncomfortable with the criticisms I make and that they have complained about me because of this. I also criticize them by name in my articles. However, I have no connection with the social media accounts I was asked about."

Demirtaş's lawyer pointed out that there is no technical evidence in the file such as IP addresses, device matching, digital material examination, or technical log records that could link the alleged crime to his client, and emphasized that a criminal investigation based on assumptions cannot be conducted solely through social media account name similarities and posts made by third parties.

HE WOULD HAVE ATTENDED ERDOĞAN'S AYDIN PROGRAM IF HE HAD NOT BEEN DETAINED

The third person whose arrest was requested but who was decided to be placed under house arrest, AKP parliamentary candidate nominee Serap Ülkü Özdemir, stated that she absolutely did not accept the accusation of insulting the President, saying, "On the contrary, I am actively working within the AK Party organization. I was also going to attend our President's visit to Aydın. Apart from this, I had to change my phone with a second-hand one because it fell and broke during a match in Seydikemer. My previous phone was also taken during the search. Nothing has been deleted. All information will emerge after the examination."

THE NAME WHO REACHED ERDOĞAN BEFORE HANDE FIRAT

After all this, let's recall a very important detail regarding Ruhi Kürşat Keskin.

As is known, Erdoğan was in Marmaris during the July 15 coup attempt and called on the public to take to the streets through Hande Fırat, who reached him.

But there was another journalist who spoke to Erdoğan before Hande Fırat and recorded this call. This journalist was Ruhi Kürşat Keskin, who was the Editor-in-Chief of Gündem Newspaper at the time. However, that recording could not be broadcast at the first moment; it later found a place on KONTV and local media.

Because of this broadcast, the Journalists Confederation of Turkey (TGK) gave Keskin a plaque of appreciation 5 months after the coup attempt. At the ceremony, TGK Board Member Mehmet Abdioğulları said, "Our brother performed a beautiful service, and I truly believe that he got way, way ahead of the Istanbul media... Representing both the local media and the national media, he wrote a legend that night. I am proud of him." The Governor of Muğla at the time, Amir Çiçek, explained that "journalists made Erdoğan's voice from Marmaris heard by the nation, and that journalists heroically fulfilled their duties."

In last year's July 15 program, AKP Muğla MP Kadem Mete also recalled that Ruhi Kürşat Keskin was the first to shoot the video of Erdoğan in Marmaris and said the following:

"The statement our President gave at the hotel that night could not be delivered to television channels due to technical reasons. However, one of our two journalist friends from Marmaris who were there, Kürşat Keskin, sent the video he shot to the national channel KONTV, which broadcasts in Konya, and ensured that this call was broadcast across Turkey for the first time. Our other journalist brother shared the footage he shot on his own social media to inform the public. I commemorate these two names here with respect and thank them."

Yes, this journalist, who was called a "hero" on July 15, is now in prison due to the complaints of some AKP members.

An interesting file, we will continue to follow it.

Statement from Aydın Ayaydın

Following our article in which we conveyed the news in the media after the operations and the statements of the defendants, Aydın Ayaydın, former ANAP and CHP MP and AKP Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayoral Candidate, made the following statement:

"The perception created that the operation in question is connected to me does not reflect the truth. I state clearly and plainly: this operation has nothing to do with me. I am not even a complainant in this file. The event is not related to an 'internal party matter' or a conflict originating from the AK Party. The assessment in this direction is completely wrong. The claim of party membership of the mentioned persons does not change the nature of the event, nor does it mean that they have a bond of heart and principle with the party. The imaginary and unrealistic content produced through fake social media accounts about myself and the political party I am a member of for a long time is known to everyone. I have used legal channels on this matter until today; access blocks were obtained, lawsuits were filed, some resulted in my favor, and some are still in the judicial process. On the other hand, establishing a link between the detention process my nephew experienced in Istanbul and this file is completely baseless. I belong to a large family. Every individual is responsible for their own actions. Producing responsibility through kinship has neither a legal nor a conscientious basis. As of today, I have instructed my lawyers to make a legal application for the first time in the capacity of a complainant against some people mentioned in the file. Because now, there is no criticism, but a conscious effort to create a perception. Finally, I would like to state this: The law does not grant privileges to anyone. If there is a crime, the account is given in the judiciary; if not, everyone is cleared."