Harsh reactions from many quarters to the detention of journalists: 'They have only one goal'

Halk TV owner Cafer Mahiroğlu made a statement regarding the detentions on his social media account. In his message, Mahiroğlu said, "Halk TV programmer and Managing Editor Serhan Asker and Barış Pehlivan were detained at the Halk TV building this evening while preparing for the 'Kayda Geçsin' program.

This country has experienced much and has gone through very difficult periods; every time, it has emerged stronger and continued on its path.

It will be the same this time. No sanction has been able to, or will be able to, stand in the way of the Turkish people's centuries-old love for freedom," he said.

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL: UNACCEPTABLE

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said the following in his speech regarding the detentions:

"I want to convey my best wishes to the entire Halk TV family. We are very saddened and are following the process very closely. They are once again in the midst of an extraordinary mistake. This is no different from the picture of Turkey we painted at our group meeting today. As someone who has witnessed the prison days of both my brothers named Barış and who has followed them very closely while they were practicing journalism, I know how much effort they put into verifying a news story and how meticulous they are about professional ethics when putting their names under a report. This was a conversation held with someone whose name is known, whose identity is known, and whose actions are known, and who knew they were being called from Halk TV.

It is as natural for someone who is so curious and who has suddenly dropped like a bombshell on the agenda to be interviewed, for their voice to be heard, and for them to answer questions asked; otherwise, the person could say, 'I do not want to answer these questions, I do not want to talk.' They do not say these things, and then there is a detention. The detention of Mr. Serhan in his capacity as managing editor is extremely disturbing and an unacceptable process in terms of press freedom. We have assigned legal colleagues. They will follow the process. I mean, this much is very disturbing in terms of press freedom, but we will follow it as closely as possible to ensure it does not evolve into a worse process."

"WE WANT A GENERAL ELECTION"

Following our meetings with all elected officials from the intense party in Istanbul last week, we came together to define a strong process. On one hand, we are in a process where we will prepare for the ballot boxes, provide training for the polls, rapidly prepare propaganda materials, write our government program, and do everything to bring the ballot box before this nation in 2025. Of course, we have steps to take and words to say to those who say 'we are not bringing the ballot box,' steps that will bring the ballot box before this nation. We do not know how much they are running away from the ballot box. We want a general election. But we also have to plan a process where the general electorate will vote and where the nation will have its say once more before having the final word at the ballot box, and where this legitimacy will be fully revealed by the nation itself through the government.

Either they will bring this ballot box before this nation, or the CHP will bring a ballot box before this nation this year and say to the nation, 'You have your say.' I have a promise to our nation and our people. For 47 years, our party has not been the leading party, and I have never once said 'ugh' to the voter. In the 20-year process and my 14 years as a member of parliament. Since May, we started with the unappointed teachers; there is no pistachio producer left, no wheat left, no tea left in Tayyip Bey's hometown of Rize. There is no cotton or olive left in my hometown of Manisa. There is no Çukurova left. We are organizing rallies square by square for minimum wage earners, for producers, and for retirees. May God be pleased with those who come; they are doing a great job.

"WHAT IF THEY ARE SURROUNDED BY THE MAFIA?"

But people need to flow into the streets like a flood now. They are trying to intimidate us. Yet, we can give strength to each other. Today, Mr. Devlet Bahçeli comes out and says, 'If you haven't learned your lesson from July 15, we will teach you.' The Idealists (Ülkücüler) will not take to the streets on July 15. 'Beware, we will not clash with those FETÖ members who took the state's tanks under them that night in front of me. We will not do anything to our army.' Someone who could not show the courage to take to the streets against the FETÖ members who seized the army is now threatening those who take to the streets. A party that did not appear in the square at night, envying the courage of the leftist, Atatürkist, revolutionary, and Kurdish youth in Gezi, but came out during the day saying, 'We are also in Gezi, government resign,' is now criminalizing Gezi. Let the nation not leave the field empty to these fair-weather opportunists. They can only burn as much space as their crimes allow. From those who left their own Youth Branch President's funeral alone in the middle of the street in Ankara and could not even offer condolences, the whole community knows who threatened the person who fell victim to this murder before. We are talking about a process where people are afraid to even post a tweet. What if they are surrounded by threats? What if they are surrounded by the mafia? No matter where they draw their power from.

"FROM NOW ON, THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID WILL BE RULED BY THESE COWARDS"

I invite our nation to stand up, to show the courage of the party founded by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the soldiers of that party against these self-proclaimed fair-weather bullies, to stand up, and to be together. From now on, if they intimidate us, they win. If we stand tall, if we stand upright, they will never, ever win. They are the ones who run away when they see difficulty. They are the ones who can never, ever show true courage. We must stand against those who stand before this nation with the power of the police, the power of justice, and the power of Akın Gürlek instead of themselves, with the courage of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and our founding cadres.

Today is a new day. I said it today, we are starting. From now on, those who are afraid will be ruled by these cowards. The brave will be ruled by a new government that the party of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk will put forward. The way to end poverty, to end slavery, to end exploitation, and to end the reign of these self-proclaimed opportunists is to trust yourself and to be one. It is to run to the square when called. It is to fulfill every responsibility that falls upon you for an early election. We are institutionally determined to achieve this. We expect the same determination and resolve from our entire nation. It is time for you to walk towards a new government with that upright head, raising your head against those who extinguish you, leave you hungry, and leave you insecure. There are no ifs or buts; the duty belongs to all of us."

"WHAT IS BEING DONE IS INTIMIDATION"

Saadet Party Chairman Mahmut Arıkan: "Those who have been unable to find the person responsible for 78 people for days are detaining journalists at the speed of light. We expect operations against cartels and gangs in every field; they are conducting operations against journalists, politicians, artists, and citizens speaking on the street. What is being done is not a detention, but intimidation. We will always be the defenders of law and justice to the end. The law cannot be used as a baton for the government. Judicial bodies must be at the service of justice, not politics. We will not surrender to this atmosphere of pressure they are trying to create."

"NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, THESE PRESSURES WILL NOT YIELD RESULTS"

Memleket Party Chairman Muharrem İnce: "Arrest a political party chairman, open investigations into mayors, detain journalists and artists... No matter what you do, these pressures will not yield results. We will not be silent, we will not cower, we will not bow down."

"ARE YOU GOING TO TURN THE WHOLE COUNTRY INTO AN OPEN PRISON?"

Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ: "I was working in my cell in Silivri and watching Halk TV. Barış Pehlivan, Seda Selek, and Serhan Asker have been detained. The pressure on Halk TV is increasing every day. It is as if enemy criminal law is being applied to the opposition. Are you going to turn the whole country into an open prison? You are the guards, we are the prisoners. If we live in this country, you will also live in a country that has turned into a prison along with us. Free Turkey, Free Press."

"WE WILL NOT LEAVE ANY JOURNALIST ALONE"

Former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: "Silencing journalists is muffling the voice of the people. We stand with all impartial, honorable journalists who shed light on the darkness. We will not leave any journalist alone, and we will not surrender any of our citizens to lawlessness."

DERVİŞOĞLU: THE DAY WILL COME WHEN YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu: "You said, 'No stopping, keep going,' well, don't you dare stop! Threaten politicians and throw those you can overpower into jail! Suppress artists and intellectuals and make them unable to speak out! Silence journalists by detaining them and prevent them from doing their jobs! Have investigations opened against your political rivals and use the judiciary to ban them from politics! Keep this poor nation hungry and prevent them from realizing the freedoms they have lost! Do not stop and keep going! As long as the world turns, time will change, and the tide will turn! And never forget that the day will come when you will be held accountable!"

"THEY HAVE ONLY ONE GOAL: TO DESTROY DEMOCRATIC COMPETITION"

Democrat Party Chairman Gültekin Uysal: "Anti-democratic regimes are synonymous with 'unwritten bans' beyond 'written bans.' The AKP government wants an order where 'arbitrariness' is not questioned; and it tries to intimidate questioning journalists through investigations, detentions, and imprisonment using methods of inventing lawlessness they learned from FETÖ. Furthermore, such practices define an untouchable 'magnetic arbitrary zone.' They have only one goal: to destroy democratic competition. You will not be able to silence journalists Barış Pehlivan, Seda Selek, Serhan Asker, or Halk TV with unlawful investigations. Because truth is like the sun; even if you close your eyes, it seeps into your eyes."

İMAMOĞLU: DO NOT BE AFRAID AND DO NOT BE SILENT

IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu: "Turkey has entered a new era of 'He who touches gets burned.' We see that the power derived from the law is being very openly abused and that an attempt is being made to spread fear to every segment of society. We will not be afraid and we will not be silent. Do not be afraid and do not be silent! The detention of journalist Barış Pehlivan and Serhan Asker is a shameful practice. We are in a bizarre situation where injustice has become a routine government practice, where the apparatus expert witness is not even a subject of investigation, yet reporting on injustice and lawlessness has turned into a crime. The ballot box will come, and it will all end."

MANSUR YAVAŞ EMPHASIZES FREE PRESS

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş: "One of the cornerstones of a state of law is freedom of thought and the press. Press freedom serves to strengthen democracy by ensuring that the public has access to accurate information. The detention of Barış Pehlivan, Seda Selek, and Serhan Asker is an interference not only with their freedom but also with the public's right to receive information. Such steps damage not only the press but also the impartiality and reliability of the law. A free press is indispensable for a strong democracy. It is our collective responsibility to defend freedom of thought while protecting the rule of law and the fundamental principles of justice."

"DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO SELL THEIR PEN?"

DEM Party Group Deputy Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit: "Journalists Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Seda Selek have been detained at Halk TV. We really want to ask; what is your limit, where will you stop? Are you going to detain the entire country? Are you going to arrest every journalist who writes a sentence against you? Where will you stop? Operations are being carried out in this country morning and night. You are violating people's right to receive information in this country. You want to fill prisons with everyone who does not pledge allegiance to you. Does everyone have to sell their pen?"

"IT IS NOT LIKE HOSTING PROGRAMS ON FETO CHANNELS"

CHP Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın: "It is a known rule in the world; if a government begins to fail to win the consent of the people, it tries to hold onto the citizens by force for a while. Those who can no longer get consent from the citizens and cannot go out to the markets are clearly violating the freedom of the press and are detaining journalists one after another. Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Seda Selek are our pride. They are free journalists; this is not like hosting programs on FETO channels."

"WHAT IS HAPPENING THAT YOU ARE RAIDING THE CHANNEL AND TAKING PEOPLE AWAY"

İYİ Party Group Deputy Chair Turhan Çömez: "This country needs real democracy. This country needs the rule of law, transparency, and, without a doubt, a free media. What has happened that Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Seda Selek were suddenly detained from the institution where they work? I am addressing the government; during the Ergenekon era, you were handing over files to journalists by the pageful and having them published. Did you take any action? If they did something contrary to press ethics, you do what is necessary. What is happening that you are raiding the channel and taking people away?"

"GREETINGS TO ALL FREE PENS"

CHP Spokesperson Deniz Yücel: "It is a climate of fear that is being created through pressure, censorship, and lawlessness. After mayors and artists, now it is the journalists' turn... Following the launch of an investigation into Şirin Payzin, Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Seda Selek were also detained. Greetings to all free pens who suffer from the AKP's oppression and who throw a wrench into the AKP's mafia order. To the AKP, which has turned detention and arrest into an element of pressure and censorship and made the judiciary a silencer for dissenting voices: 'There is no salvation alone; either all together or none of us.'"

"WE CALL ON DEMOCRATIC FORCES THAT DEFEND PRESS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION TO SHOW SOLIDARITY"

Journalists' Association President Nazmi Bilgin made a statement regarding the recent developments. Emphasizing that journalism is not a crime and that asking questions is a fundamental requirement of the profession, President Bilgin stated, "Contacting an expert witness who is a source for a news story and requesting the right of reply for the opposing party are fundamental principles of journalistic ethics and cannot be considered a crime," and added the following:

"An investigation was launched into journalist Barış Pehlivan, who held a phone conversation with S.B., whom IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu described as an 'expert witness appointed to CHP cases' during his January 27 press conference, and Pehlivan was subsequently detained in front of the Halk TV building. Within the scope of the same investigation, Halk TV Managing Editor Serhan Asker and programmer Seda Selek were also detained. Pehlivan had explained that he conducted this interview to grant the aforementioned expert witness the right of reply. This situation is a clear attempt at pressure. The rights of journalists to report news and ask questions are being violated."

"A NEW THREAT"

The draft law, which ostensibly aims to increase cybersecurity, contains articles that threaten journalistic activities and the privacy of the personal data of millions of citizens. In particular, the regulation that deems creating content 'as if a data leak has occurred' a crime opens the door to arbitrary practices. This legislative proposal aims to institutionally suppress press freedom. The broad powers granted to the Cybersecurity Presidency pose a direct threat to the private lives of citizens and the journalistic profession.

"THE GOVERNMENT MUST DECLARE ITS TRUE INTENTIONS"

Following the Censorship Law and the 'Influence Agent' regulations, this legislative proposal also aims to deepen the repressive regime against press freedom in Turkey. The government must declare its true intentions; it must immediately withdraw these regulations that target journalists, media organizations, and citizens. Media and freedom of expression are indispensable for a democratic state governed by the rule of law. It is everyone's duty to defend the public's right to receive information. As the Journalists' Association, we call on all press professional organizations and democratic forces that defend press and freedom of expression to show solidarity."

"IT MUST BE ENDED IMMEDIATELY"

Confederation of Public Employees' Unions (KESK): "This is an attack on our right to receive information... The politicized judiciary, which has become a tool for the government to suppress opposition segments, signs off on a new illegality every day. Today, the detention of Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Seda Selek due to the news they reported has been added to the policies of fear, intimidation, and pressure maintained against politicians, labor and professional organizations, artists, and press workers. As KESK, we condemn this attack on the public's right to receive information, and therefore on democracy and the rule of law. Despite all kinds of pressure, threats, penalties, and arrests, we will always stand by the press workers who pursue the truth and defend the public's right to receive information. The detentions must end immediately, and this lawlessness and pressure must be brought to an end as soon as possible."

CHP İstanbul PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION INTERRUPTS MEETING

CHP İstanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik stated, "We are interrupting our CHP İstanbul Provincial Administration meeting and heading to the Halk TV headquarters with all our executives and district chairs. Everyone who stands for press freedom, justice, and democracy must stand against fascism and on the side of rights and the law."

ÖZEL APPOINTS DELEGATION

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel has appointed a delegation regarding the matter. The delegation, led by Deputy Chairman in charge of Media and Public Relations Burhanettin Bulut, includes Deputy Chairman and Istanbul MP Özgür Karabat, High Disciplinary Board Chairman and Istanbul MP Taşkın Özer, Rize MP Tahsin Ocaklı, and Eskişehir MP Utku Çakırözer. According to information obtained, the delegation will monitor the detention processes and provide legal support to the journalists.