He had said 'it is a candidate to be a Susurluk': Response from Binali Yıldırım's brother to Sabah columnist

The arrest of Habertürk TV Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who was taken into custody as part of a drug investigation that began with famous actors and singers and extended to the media world, continues to remain on the agenda.

While new allegations regarding the investigation emerge every day, the names present in a photograph taken at Ersoy's birthday party drew attention. It was learned that one of the names in the frame was İlhami Yıldırım, the brother of Binali Yıldırım. Dilek Güngör, a columnist for the pro-government newspaper Sabah, drew attention to the photo in question by sharing it with the note "This file is a candidate to be a political Susurluk."

Birgün columnist Timur Soykan recounted his conversation with İlhami Yıldırım in his article titled "The person in the photo is Binali's brother."

The relevant part of Soykan's article, which recalls the words of Sabah columnist Güngör, "This file is a candidate to be a political Susurluk," is as follows:

The relevant section from Soykan's article is as follows:

"One of the notable names in the photograph pointed out by the Sabah columnist is İlhami Yıldırım, the brother of former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. This situation raises the possibility that Binali Yıldırım is also being targeted. It is alleged that İlhami Yıldırım is the owner of a real estate company that has received controversial tenders in Çekmeköy, Istanbul. He also served as the Istanbul Branch President of the Turkish Red Crescent for a long time. İlhami Yıldırım was subjected to an armed attack in Çekmeköy, Istanbul, in 2015, and his driver was shot and wounded. He had previously shared posts with Mehmet Akif Ersoy on his social media account. He deleted these posts after Mehmet Akif Ersoy's arrest.

RESPONSE FROM İLHAMİ YILDIRIM TO 'LIKE SUSURLUK' CLAIMS

I spoke with İlhami Yıldırım after the posts made by Sabah newspaper columnist Dilek Güngör with the claim that it was 'like Susurluk.' İlhami Yıldırım said that the photo was taken 4 years ago at a fish restaurant during Mehmet Akif Ersoy's birthday party. Stating that he has known Mehmet Akif Ersoy for many years, İlhami Yıldırım said, "I had arrived late to the birthday party. Mehmet Akif Ersoy is my friend. I am not going to say 'I don't know him' now. I have never seen the alleged aspects of Mehmet Akif, I have had no such witness account. However, presenting such a photo as 'like Susurluk' is malicious. It makes one think that they are doing this for a political purpose. But it is not right at all to present everyone in the photo as if they were guilty," he said."