Second letter from Fatih Altaylı: 'Those who saw my arrest as an opportunity...'

Journalist Fatih Altaylı, who was detained after the remarks he made on his YouTube channel on June 21 were deemed to be the crime of "threatening the President" and was arrested on June 22, has been in custody for four days.

Altaylı, who is being held at Marmara Prison in Silivri, saw his seat on the "Fatih Altaylı interprets" program, which he hosts every weekday, remain empty today as well.

Following Altaylı's arrest, the video titled 'Fatih Altaylı CANNOT INTERPRET' featuring his empty seat had been viewed over 1 million times. On the second day, the letter Altaylı sent from Silivri was read.

A new video was published on Altaylı's channel today titled "Fatih Altaylı CANNOT INTERPRET: Silivri Diary - 2". In the video, the letter sent by Altaylı was read once again.

In the letter, Altaylı evaluated his first full day spent in Silivri and some topics on the agenda.

Here is Altaylı's letter:

"YOU KNOW I AM LUCKY"

Dear Emre, I hope you are well and in good health. Greetings to the team. A big thank you to our viewers. I am in very good spirits today. I was able to spend my first full day in Silivri the day before yesterday with those I love most. Because I was arrested before I could see them, Hande and Zeynep, they were on my mind. We finally met. It was nice to talk, even if it was from behind the glass. Hande's stance and the sentence she said to my lawyer who was crying were magnificent. I think everyone understands why I have been falling more in love with her every day for 30 years. Zeynep is also standing tall just like her mother. I am proud of her too. I was troubled and sad because we hadn't seen each other for months. I felt relieved yesterday. I heard from them that you are all doing well too. Starting with you, you are all standing tall.

You know I am lucky. My luck is holding up now too. I had mentioned that the room I was given was quite dirty and that I had ordered quite a lot of cleaning supplies from the canteen. It wasn't something that could be cleaned without washing away the bird droppings and such. But there is no water to wash with, and even if there were water, there is no drain. The available materials are insufficient. While I was thinking hard about how I would do it, suddenly a sound of water started coming from the outer corridor where the rooms are located, and all of a sudden, water started coming in from under the door, washing the filthy floor of the room by itself. All that was left for me to do was to send the water in the room back to the corridor with the tool they call a "squeegee" here. Then I mopped the floors of the room again with a nice-smelling detergent. It smells wonderful right now.

"HALK TV AND SÖZCÜ TV ARE ALSO HERE"

Apart from cleaning, my day is spent with lawyer meetings. In between, I watch the news on television. We can watch 52 channels here. Halk TV and Sözcü TV are also available. If anyone is wondering, I'll tell you. The food is not bad, but I don't eat much. We met with the psychologist in the morning and the prison doctor in the afternoon. While I was sitting in my room, a sparrow entered the room through the window. It settled on my desk, ate some bread, and then left. Maybe it will come again today.

"MY ADVICE TO THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE IS NOT TO COMMENT ON SPEECHES HE HAS NOT WATCHED"

Thanks to the television, I can now be informed about what is happening outside. The prison psychologist had said, "Do not watch the news about yourself, your stress level might increase." But one cannot stop oneself from watching, so I watch. The support coming from friends and those close to me in thought, far from stressing me out, actually cheered me up by showing that we are not the minority but the majority. Of course, one does not necessarily have to be an opposition member to be on the side of intellectual honor and justice. Although I have had many debates with Mücahit Birinci of the AKP in the past, he made an extremely accurate legal comment regarding my arrest. I thank him not because he defended me, but because he stood on the side of what is right and courageously demanded that the law be respected. My advice to the Minister of Justice is not to comment on speeches he has not watched or listened to. While trying to influence the judiciary, he should not label me with the term "dictator," which I have never used. Just as I did not call Erdoğan a dictator, I had actually received reactions from some listeners in a previous speech because I said the exact opposite. But speaking without knowing is the fashion of the era, and the Minister has followed this fashion. He forgot to say "the judiciary is independent" at the end of his speech. Or perhaps even he could not say that much.

"THE HEAD OF RTÜK, SEEING MY ARREST AS AN OPPORTUNITY..."

By the way, I heard that the head of RTÜK, seeing my arrest as an opportunity, has started demanding a license from us again in an unlawful manner. The fact that this license is being demanded only from me while there are one million YouTube broadcasters in Turkey is like a symbol of the understanding of justice in the AKP era. As the leader of the Good Party, Müsavat Dervişoğlu, put it, "Are you kidding me, man?"

"IRAN-ISRAEL COMMENTARY"

You are not asking, but I will tell you. The Iran-Israel ceasefire is gratifying, but I don't think it will be permanent. In my opinion, it is a setup by Trump to give Israel a breather; the fact that Israel is still being hit despite Iran's stronger-than-expected reaction and actual support was like a water break in football for the exhausted Israel. Netanyahu and his sidekick Trump will catch their breath a little and start hitting again.

"HE CANNOT STOP INFLATION BUT STOPS LAWYERS WITH POLICE FORCE"

The war did not affect oil prices much either, but our government seized the opportunity. Fuel prices exceeded 50 TL, and diesel exceeded 53 TL. The government had made consecutive hikes when the price of oil was 110 dollars, and did not reflect the same decrease to the pump when oil fell to 60 dollars. But now it has immediately reflected the rise to 75 dollars. Of course, we will also see the reflection of the increase in diesel prices on inflation. Despite TÜİK, the increase in prices in agricultural production and logistics will have a multiplying effect. The government cannot stop inflation, but it stops lawyers who want to march for justice with police force. I wish they could stop inflation with police force, but things don't work that way. Foreign capital does not come with police force either. On the contrary, as you block the path of justice, you also block the path of foreign capital and investors, and you are forced to pave the way for black money and illegality. The fact that they still cannot see this shows that they are approaching the peak of political and administrative blindness.

"IF THE PRISON LIMIT IS NOT ENOUGH, YOU THINK ABOUT THE STATE OF THE RETIREE"

If we return to our situation here, there are conclusions to be drawn even from the inside. The weekly spending limit for canteen shopping in prison is 3500 TL. If you are a well-behaved prisoner or convict, the prison administration can increase this amount by a certain rate. So this amount is actually insufficient. And 3500 TL a week means 14,000 TL a month. That is actually a retiree's pension. There is no rent in prison; lighting, heating, water, and hot water are free. Three meals a day are free. But if 14,000 TL is still not enough and falls short, you think about the state of the retiree. Moreover, this money must not be enough for one person in prison, as the limit is increased for good behavior. I am saying this so that Mehmet Şimşek knows.

"AHMET ÖZER AND I WERE SIDE BY SIDE IN THE LAWYER ROOMS YESTERDAY"

The only problem besides being away from the people you love is loneliness. There is no common area. No one sees anyone. The only place we encounter other prisoners is either when going to a visit or to a lawyer in the corridor, or seeing them through the glass in the lawyer meeting rooms. Talking, let alone shaking hands, is out of the question, except for saying hello. So far, I have seen the mayors of Şişli, Büyükçekmece, Beşiktaş, Gaziosmanpaşa, and Esenyurt, and some bureaucrats. We greeted each other from afar and said "get well soon." Yesterday, I was in the lawyer rooms side by side with the most senior one, Ahmet Özer. He tried to make his voice heard by shouting and gave advice. If the IMM assembly were to meet here soon, he would preside over the assembly as the most senior member.

Let me not drag this out too long. Say hello to everyone. Convey my love and gratitude to our valuable viewers who watched even my inability to interpret with over a million views. As I said yesterday, we cannot stand idly by while bright young people are taking ownership of this country. The salt of those who stand on the sidelines because they are comfortable will one day get wet. We have a country, and our young people have a future. We must take ownership of both. Both are very valuable, which is why the price is high.