Gürsel Tekin files criminal complaint against BirGün and Sözcü TV

Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed as a trustee to the CHP İstanbul Provincial Presidency by court order, has applied to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding reports that paid extras were brought to a CHP membership participation ceremony he attended alongside Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

According to Gazete Pano, Tekin named BirGün reporter Ebru Çelik and Web Publication Coordinators Uğur Koç and Berkant Gültekin as suspects in the criminal complaint he filed via UYAP. The application also included the Sözcü TV reporter and company representative Nedim Bayhan.

In his petition, Tekin argued that the reports in question contained "untrue, false, and slanderous" information, asserting that the CHP does not work with casting agencies for any of its organizations. Tekin further claimed that no comments were sought from party officials before the reports were published and that they were not granted a right of reply.

The criminal complaint requested that an investigation be opened against the journalists for the crimes of "insult" under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, "publicly disseminating misleading information" under Article 217/A—known in the public as the "disinformation law"—and "slander" under Article 267.