Will 'this suspect' flee?

Regarding the unfair and unlawful arrest of my colleague and brother Tolga Şardan, let us first hold ourselves accountable.

Before Şardan, a group of young journalists was arrested. Their crime was making “nationalist posts” regarding the refugee issue. What, does one have to be a Greek, Armenian, or Russian nationalist in Turkey instead of a Turkish nationalist? Unfortunately, apart from a handful of people, no one remembers these young people.

Again, just 13 days before Şardan, 25-year-old TRT reporter Elif Akkuş was arrested on a charge that carries no prison time. And she was on a stretcher, with a blood pressure of 19. As far as I can see, apart from Professor Emre Kongar, no one has mentioned Elif.

Is there not something wrong here on behalf of the media community?

While mentioning Elif, let me share the letter she wrote to me on the 15th day of her detention.

She spoke not of herself, but of the young women in their 20s in her ward. Stating that she tries to be a source of hope for them by explaining that a life without involvement in crime is possible, she said, “Seeing their transformation is very valuable. I hope I can be a means for them to change something in their lives; then my being here will gain meaning,” and added the following:

“Freedom is within a person. Freedom is there when you look at the sky. Also, yesterday, for the first time, rain came into the courtyard. It was beautiful. Greetings to everyone.”

WHO DID TOLGA PANIC?

Let us come to Tolga Şardan's arrest. He was arrested on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information” under the “Disinformation Law,” known as the censorship law, for writing that the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) had submitted a judicial report to the Presidency. The conditions for this “crime,” which carries no prison time, to occur are as follows:

“It must have been disseminated solely with the intent to create anxiety, fear, or panic among the public.” It is not enough; it must be “false information regarding the internal and external security, public order, and general health of the country” and must be published “publicly in a manner capable of disrupting public peace.”

Sir, apparently there is no such report! When do they announce it? 43 hours after the news and 10 minutes after Şardan was arrested.

We have seen so many truths denied, but anyway!..

For God's sake, is a report needed to see the state of the judiciary? Doesn't even the deaf sultan know? Those who accuse Şardan argue that it is impossible for MİT, which deals with international security and threats, to prepare such a report.

What, did our judiciary not become a subject of international relations, and therefore international security and threats, during their term in power?

What happened during the sending of Pastor Brunson to the USA and Deniz Yücel to Germany? Or the transfer of jurisdiction for the trial of Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, or Sedat Peker being subjected to isolation in the United Arab Emirates? Isn't the state of our law the primary reason why foreign investors do not come to the country?!

Instead of rejoicing, saying, “How nice, the State has addressed a very important problem,” why this panic?

Tolga Şardan is a very experienced journalist who is serious, reliable, and never acts with political motives. Why would he write something that doesn't exist? How could he make up so many details?

Let's assume there is no such report. Well, when Şardan “misled the public” with that news, in which segment of the public did fear and panic arise, and how was public order disrupted? Was there an action, did someone rise up, were there clashes that we didn't hear about?

It is understood that it is not the public, but someone who was uncomfortable with Şardan's past news, who turned his latest article into an opportunity.

If not, in this age, with these technological possibilities, why were Şardan's digital devices confiscated without their images being taken? Aside from the desire to identify Şardan's news sources; as we saw plenty of in the Ergenekon-Balyoz plots, what is the guarantee that some additions will not be made to them?

RELEASE FOR ANTI-REPUBLICANISM

Simultaneously with Tolga Şardan's arrest, an incident occurred in the Körfez district of Kocaeli. It turned out that Metin Özcan, an imam at the Hazreti Ali Mosque, made the following speech at a mawlid:

“With the Republic, decisions were made to hang Islamic scholars. Caliphates were abolished, madrasas were closed, dervish lodges were closed. Alphabets were changed. The Muslim who knew everything became someone who knew nothing. Read history well, research well. The men they love are not men to be loved at all. May God protect us. Mothers; you educate your children. The bare-legged person who puts the child in school, sermons are read under the name of a center of knowledge and wisdom. There is no such thing. There is no education, there is no knowledge and wisdom. There is no education, there is no teaching. Do not leave your child there and expect them to grow up. Maybe they will reach a position, but they will use that position for bribery and wrong.”

The imam was detained on charges of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” and “insulting Atatürk,” and was released with judicial control conditions. When the Public Prosecutor objected to this decision, he was arrested. But then, somehow, he was released immediately.

While the pro-government media, which ignored Şardan's arrest, welcomed this development, they were able to claim that the imam was detained because of “targeting by the CHP-aligned media.”

WHO ARE THE WITNESSES AND VICTIMS OF THE NEWS?

I keep reading the arrest decision for Şardan. Including grammatical errors, it says exactly the following:

“When the arrest warrant, suspect defense, other law enforcement reports, and other documents in the investigation file are examined, it is seen that the suspect, in the content of the article titled 'What is in the judicial report that MİT submitted to the Presidency', made verbal statements in a manner that would constitute the elements of the crime of 'publicly disseminating misleading information' regulated in Article 217/a of the Turkish Penal Code, that when evaluated together with other information and documents in the file, there is concrete evidence showing the existence of strong suspicion that the suspect committed the crime charged, that due to the amount of penalty foreseen in the law for the charged crime, the importance of the alleged crime, and it being among the catalog crimes considered serious, the reason for arrest is assumed by law, that considering the potential penalty he may receive, there is a suspicion of flight, that due to the investigation not being completed yet, there is a suspicion that the suspect may destroy or hide evidence and exert pressure on witnesses and victims, and when the importance of the matter, the expected penalty or security measure are evaluated, in accordance with the 'proportionality' principle expressed in Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, it is concluded that the judicial control measure, which is a lighter protection measure, would be 'insufficient' for the crime subject to the investigation and for this suspect at this stage and would not serve the purpose, and it is decided to arrest him...”

Let's evaluate these justifications.

It is just a piece of news. What other documents could be in the file? The alleged crime is not within the scope of “catalog crimes”; is this ignorance, or was it copy-pasted? What evidence could Şardan destroy or hide? Who are the witnesses and victims that Şardan could exert pressure on? Will he exert pressure on the Presidency or MİT? Isn't the emphasis on “this suspect” very remarkable? And could a name like Tolga Şardan have a possibility of fleeing?

EXILE FOR ŞARDAN

Aside from Şardan being arrested and silenced for a crime that carries no prison time; he was taken from Ankara Sincan Prison to Silivri Prison in a hurry, without notifying his family and lawyers.

Hey, you could have waited a week.

The arrest decision has not even been appealed yet. There is a 7-day period; let this appeal be made, let the appeal be rejected, and then you can take him.

Now, if we make a prediction like, “It means the appeal will also be rejected,” would we be giving “misleading information to the public”?!

IS OPPRESSION ONLY IN GAZA?

The second day of Şardan's detention was Friday. In the Diyanet's Friday sermon, the subject of oppression was addressed based on what is happening in Gaza, and the following were emphasized in summary:

“Values that make a human being human, such as rights, law, morality, conscience, and compassion, are being trampled upon by the occupying oppressors and their supporters... Wherever oppression is committed, it is the responsibility of all of us as humans to stop the oppressor. Because consenting to oppression is also oppression... Let us take a deterrent role to prevent oppression and be a hope for the oppressed; let us do whatever is necessary with our hands, our tongues, and our hearts... Like the ant going to extinguish the fire of Prophet Abraham, let us continue to stand by the truth and against falsehood.”

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, who denied Şardan's news, also said yesterday, while calling for an end to attacks on journalists in Israel, “We condemn the efforts to silence all our colleagues who are trying to convey the facts from the field to the world.”

We also strongly condemn the Israeli oppression and say;

Those who cannot ensure justice in their own country cannot bring justice to the world!..