TV series investigation turns to Gezi: 'Influence agent' detail in the investigation where Ayşe Barım was arrested

The TV series investigation launched into Ayşe Barım, founder and partner of ID Communication Limited Company, who has been on the agenda with allegations of monopolization in the sector, has evolved into the Gezi Park case.

Barım, who is alleged to have been among the planners of the Gezi Park protests, was detained on charges of "attempting to overthrow the Republic of Turkey or prevent it from performing its duties."

While Barım was arrested as part of the investigation launched against her, the details of the investigation were revealed in the prosecutor's referral document.

The referral document emphasized that the subject and purpose of the investigation were not those who participated in the Gezi Park protests, but rather to uncover all aspects of an organization that aimed to overthrow the current government by directing and utilizing civil society movements and escalating them into violence.

TAPES OF BARIM AND ALABORA REVEALED

It was recorded that there is a taped conversation showing that the suspect Barım exchanged ideas with Mehmet Ali Alabora, one of the defendants in the Gezi Park trial, regarding whether or not to publish a declaration within the scope of the Gezi Park events. In the content, it is noted that Barım said, "I suppose Şebnem called you; when this text came to me at 10:30, I hit the roof, and I panicked for your sake. Definitely, please, whatever you do, don't publish it like this," while Alabora said, "As of now, at this moment, I am thinking of such a text." Barım then said, "I told our actors too, 'don't you dare do such a thing right now,' but Sevilay just called me and said Çiğdem Mater sent it to her for directors to sign. She said Mehmet Ali has approved and is aware of this." It was reported that there are correspondences indicating that the fugitive defendant Mehmet Ali Alabora, who played an active role in the Gezi Park protests, held discussions with the suspect Ayşe Barım about publishing a declaration, that this declaration would be harmful at this stage, that it should be shared only if public pressure becomes more actively necessary, and that it would therefore be evaluated in the future process.

RECORDED AS BEING IN AN EFFORT TO INCREASE THE MASS PARTICIPATION IN THE PROTESTS

In the referral document, it was stated that during the period of the Gezi Park protests, the suspect Barım had 7 phone calls with Bergüzar Korel, 4 with Ceyda Düvenci, 10 with Dolunay Soysert, 12 with Halit Ergenç, 5 with Hümeyra Akbay, 1 with Mehmet Günsur, 2 with Nehir Erdoğan, 8 with Selma Ergeç, 2 with Nejat İşler, and 1 with Rıza Kocaoğlu, and that she was in an effort to increase the mass participation in the protests by physically participating in the Gezi events with the artists affiliated with her own company.

EMPHASIZED THAT SHE ACTED AS AN 'INFLUENCE AGENT'

It was stated that it was determined that the actors of the company belonging to the suspect Barım participated simultaneously in the #HelpTurkey campaign, which was launched on social media after the forest fires and earthquake disasters in 2021 to portray Turkey as inadequate in the international arena, and that this was noteworthy in terms of the purpose of the influence agency that the company's activities were directed toward and in revealing her intent.

STATED THAT SHE DIRECTED WELL-KNOWN ACTORS TO THE PROTESTS

The referral document noted that Barım was in direct contact with fugitive defendants Mehmet Ali Alabora and Çiğdem Mater Utku, who are among the main perpetrators of the Gezi trial, and that she was identified as a person who exercised will, was consulted, and whose approval was sought. It was recorded that she planned, organized, and directed the events, acted as a guiding and decisive figure by providing decisions when her will was consulted, and aimed to increase the mass participation by directing well-known actors from her company to the protests, utilizing their recognition and influence in society, and that she was partially successful in this.

REPORTED THAT SOME ACTORS GAVE TESTIMONY TO PROTECT BARIM

The document also noted that although some actors stated in their testimonies taken as witnesses that they participated in the protests of their own volition, they could not explain the content of their intense contact with the suspect during the period when the protests began in a way consistent with the ordinary flow of life. It was clearly understood that their evasive answers regarding the content of their conversations, despite the suspect being with them at Gezi Park during the period of the protests—which were followed and kept on the agenda for days by domestic and international public opinion—were made with the intention of protecting the suspect.

INVESTIGATION INTO HALİT ERGENÇ AND RIZA KOCAOĞLU FOR 'PERJURY'

The referral document also recorded that an investigation is being conducted against actors Halit Ergenç and Rıza Kocaoğlu, who testified as witnesses, for the crime of 'perjury' because they stated that they were not in contact with Memet Ali Alabora, one of the perpetrators of the events, during the process, despite evidence of their contact and images of them protesting together.

WHAT IS AN INFLUENCE AGENT?

The regulation known as 'influence agency' was reflected in the public eye with the drafts in Article 16 of the "Draft Law on Amendments to the Notary Law and Certain Other Laws," which came to the agenda in May of last year. However, the regulation was not included in that proposal. The same regulation was later included in the legislative proposal submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in November within the scope of espionage crimes, and its deliberations were completed in the Justice Commission. However, due to reactions, the regulation was withdrawn and not enacted.

The legislative proposal would have added a new crime under the heading of "committing crimes against the security or political interests of the state" to Article 339 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which regulates the crime of "espionage." The proposal stipulated that, provided it is outside the scope of the "espionage crime," those who "commit crimes against the security or internal or external political interests of the state in line with the strategic interests or instructions of a foreign state or organization shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three to seven years." The proposal also paved the way for double punishment with the phrase, "The perpetrator shall be sentenced separately for both this crime and the related crime committed." If the crime endangers the state during war or preparations for war, the sentence could be increased from 8 to 12 years. Prosecution for the aforementioned crime was made subject to the permission of the Ministry of Justice.