Allegations of a court order for Turkuvaz Medya's database: Execution postponed, panel changed

It has been alleged that the Cyber Crimes Combat Department requested information from Turkuvaz Medya's database through a court order. According to the claim reported by T24 columnist Tolga Şardan, the application was made to the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court, and the court responded favorably to the request.

Following the decision, it was alleged that contacts began on the Istanbul-Ankara line and that certain individuals from Turkuvaz Medya traveled to Ankara. Şardan wrote that the execution of the decision was postponed due to the intervention of some ministers.

Serhat Albayrak, the brother of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law Berat Albayrak, serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at the media group in question. Şardan also stated that he attempted to reach Tahsin Yazar, the lawyer responsible for legal affairs at Turkuvaz Medya, regarding the matter but did not receive a response.

ALLEGATIONS OF CHANGES TO THE COURT PANEL

The report pointed out that the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court holds significant authority regarding technical monitoring, wiretapping, and surveillance decisions in investigations conducted by judicial law enforcement across the country.

According to Tolga Şardan's claim, the decision regarding Turkuvaz Medya also had repercussions within the AKP. It was reported that following this process, a new presiding judge was appointed to the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court, some members were reassigned, and new members were appointed to the panel.

The article argued that these developments also had repercussions within the police force. Noting that the "Cyber Crimes Combat Department" is at the center of attention, Şardan wrote that the reflections of this could be seen in the police chief decree, which is said to be currently being worked on by Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya and Director General of Security Ali Fidan.

It was also suggested that the process might be linked to videos published on social media by Tamar Tanrıyar, which contained allegations regarding Berat Albayrak and Serhat Albayrak. An ex officio investigation had previously been launched against Tanrıyar for the crimes of "insulting the President" and "publicly disseminating misleading information," and Tanrıyar was released after being detained. An access ban had also been imposed on Tanrıyar's YouTube account.