Merdan Yanardağ: We apparently committed espionage just for the sport of it
In his defense during the espionage trial, detained journalist Merdan Yanardağ stated, "We apparently committed espionage just for the sport of it. I was broadcasting, got bored, and decided to commit espionage as a hobby. I have been a journalist for 40 years, I have more than enough work to do, but I decided to do some espionage as a hobby. We provided account numbers for viewers to become sponsors for Tele1 TV and announced them publicly. Seher Alaçam, the spiritual mother of Hüseyin Gün, who is the subject of this case, is just one of the tens of thousands of our supporters who responded to this call."
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The second hearing of the trial, in which Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, strategist Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ, and technology investor Hüseyin Gün are being tried on charges of 'political espionage' with a requested sentence of 15 to 20 years each, continued. Merdan Yanardağ presented his defense at the hearing held by the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court in the courtroom opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Execution Institution.
"We apparently committed espionage just for the sport of it, as a hobby"
In his defense, Yanardağ said, "Yesterday we watched two defenses. One was Ekrem İmamoğlu, who will be the President of this country in a short while. The other was Hüseyin Gün, who forms the basis of this case. As seen from Ekrem İmamoğlu's defense, this case is political in nature. I hope that at the end of these trials, a President will emerge from Silivri to lead Turkey. We apparently committed espionage just for the sport of it. I was broadcasting, got bored, and decided to commit espionage as a hobby. I have been a journalist for 40 years, I have more than enough work to do, but I decided to do some espionage as a hobby."
"Is there any information or documentation? No"
Continuing his defense, Yanardağ stated, "According to the prosecutors, there is no need for a foreign country or a foreign intelligence agency because they couldn't find one. If there is no foreign organization and it was not done in favor of a foreign state, let's read Article 328 of the Turkish Penal Code. What does it say? It states that anyone who obtains information that must remain secret due to its nature regarding the security or domestic or foreign political interests of the state for the purpose of political or military espionage shall be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison. That is the article. You must obtain information and documents that must remain secret due to the nature of the state. Is there any such information or document? No. Is it clear how it was obtained? That is also not there. In the prosecutor's thesis, there is no need for a foreign state, but is there a foreign organization? That is also not there."
"We provided account numbers for viewers to become sponsors; Hüseyin Gün's spiritual mother is one of our supporters"
Merdan Yanardağ continued his defense, saying, "The operation has two main goals. The first is to seize Tele1 and try to silence me and my friends. We provided account numbers for viewers to become sponsors for Tele1 TV and announced them. These are all open sources, they are on our websites. There are calls I made during live broadcasts. Seher Alaçam (Hüseyin Gün's spiritual mother), who is the subject of this case and whom I know, is one of the tens of thousands of our supporters who responded to this call. I don't know Mr. Hüseyin very well. I knew him as Seher Alaçam's companion and her son. In every program, we call on viewers to write their questions, opinions, and criticisms. We take questions from the audience, not instructions. We take instructions from no one."
"The claim that we manipulated the election via Tele1 and that is why Mr. Ekrem won is nonsense"
Continuing his defense, Yanardağ said, "The indictment claims that we manipulated things through Tele1 and that is why Ekrem Bey won the election. It is utter nonsense. It claims I conducted a perception operation in favor of Ekrem İmamoğlu through Tele1 in line with Hüseyin Gün's demands. We listened to Mr. Hüseyin. There is no such thing in Mr. Hüseyin's testimony. He does not say, 'Merdan Yanardağ took part in the media side of this.' Are you reading minds? What kind of prosecutor's office is this? We made a call to our viewers and asked for support as Tele1. I believe they remembered Hüseyin Gün incorrectly. His mother, Seher Alaçam, provided us with minor support. I never take money directly from anyone. We turned this into an institution called viewer sponsorship. We have a democratic and transparent financing model."
The hearing continues with the defense attorneys' statements.
Merdan Yanardağ added, "They couldn't find any other evidence, so they planned the program we did with Republican People's Party Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as a television event carried out under the direction of an organization. Honestly, I cannot understand the prosecutor's office's love for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. They are inseparable; they are trying to protect Mr. Kemal with all their might. Now, we can say that I have a long-standing relationship, even a friendship, with Mr. Kemal. We cornered Mr. Kemal with our questions; well, a journalist's duty is to corner people. They say we created a perception in favor of Ekrem İmamoğlu. Why? What did we say? Well, what crime did the prosecution find here, and which question came to me as an instruction that I then asked? That is missing."