Another appointment: RTÜK President Şahin has appointed his bodyguard as an advisor!

Appointments at the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), chaired by Ebubekir Şahin, who is also a member of the Halkbank Board of Directors, have been a subject of public debate.

Furthermore, new appointments signed off by Ebubekir Şahin have come to light.

According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün; Ebubekir Şahin, who has been raining fines down on opposition channels since the day he took over RTÜK and has therefore been described as the government's commissioner, has appointed his bodyguard, Rıdvan Usta, as an advisor. Usta, who is understood to have retired some time ago, told BirGün that "he was previously Şahin's bodyguard and is now serving at RTÜK as an advisor."

WIFE OF MHP FIGURE ALSO APPOINTED

Hatice Çeliker, the wife of Murat Çeliker, the Chief of Staff known as the right-hand man of MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, was appointed as the Head of the RTÜK Strategy Department in 2019. Çeliker was recently appointed as the head of the Public Opinion, Broadcasting Research and Measurement Department, which is considered a more critical position. Çeliker did not respond to questions regarding her appointment.

BROTHER OF MHP'S KARAKAYA BECAME A DIRECTOR

It has also been learned that Hikmet Alp Karakaya, the brother of MHP Deputy Chairman and Ankara MP Mevlüt Karakaya, has become a director at RTÜK.

FROM THE PALACE TO RTÜK…

Abdullah Gülünay, the son of Mehmet Gülünay, who serves as an "expert" on the team of Presidential Chief of Staff Hasan Doğan, and his son-in-law Mehmet Avcı are also among those who have been made executives at RTÜK. Abdullah Gülünay serves as the Deputy Head of the Human Resources and Training Department. Mehmet Gülünay stated that he would not make a statement regarding his son and son-in-law.

Deniz Güler, the nephew of Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, also serves as an RTÜK Vice President. Güler said that "he is a civil servant and cannot make a statement."

Ferudun Çıldık, the brother of Neşe Çıldık, who is a General Manager at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is the related institution of RTÜK, sits in the seat of deputy head of the RTÜK Administrative and Financial Affairs Department. Çıldık said, "I am a financial affairs expert," and stated that he is qualified.

Burak Saçal, the husband of Elif Nur Yaman Saçal, who is a Ministerial Advisor at the Ministry of Family and Social Services, is also among the names who are executives at RTÜK. Saçal confirmed that he is an executive at the institution.

Hacer Özkan, the wife of Council of State member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gürsel Özkan, also serves as an executive at RTÜK. Hacer Özkan, whom BirGün reached, said that she previously worked at the Ministry of Justice and moved to RTÜK during the Şahin era.

Feyza Gizligider, the wife of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ebubekir Gizligider, also serves as a department head at RTÜK.

MURAT KURUM'S WIFE IS ALSO AT RTÜK

It is also known that Şengül Kurum, the wife of AKP member Murat Kurum, who was reappointed as the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change after losing the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality election, works at RTÜK. Upon BirGün's questions regarding the appointments of spouses, friends, and relatives at the institution, the RTÜK Press Consultancy responded, "We will not have any statement regarding our institution and our employees."

NUMBER OF EXECUTIVES AND EMPLOYEES INCREASED

RTÜK's activity reports also show the increase in personnel at the institution. According to the information in the reports, when Ebubekir Şahin took the seat of RTÜK President, there were 434 people working at the institution, 33 of whom were executives. Following Ebubekir Şahin, in 2022, the number of executives jumped from 33 to 51, and the number of employees at the institution skyrocketed from 434 to 635.