Statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding detentions: Pehlivan, Asker, and Selek

Here is the statement issued by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office:

"Regarding the unauthorized recording and subsequent disclosure of a telephone conversation held with one of the individuals appointed as an expert witness in certain investigations conducted by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and in public cases before the courts, during a Halk TV broadcast on 27/01/2025, as well as the act of disclosing the expert's name in a manner that targets them and making statements intended to influence the course of the trial, suspects Barış Pehlivan, presenter Seda Selek, and channel manager Serhan Asker have been detained. The investigation was initiated under the charges of 'Eavesdropping and Recording Private Conversations' (Turkish Penal Code Art. 133/3), which states: 'Any person who unlawfully discloses data obtained by recording non-public conversations between individuals shall be sentenced to imprisonment from two to five years and a judicial fine of up to four thousand days.'

The same penalty shall be imposed if such disclosed data is published through press and broadcasting media, and 'Attempting to Influence an Expert Witness' (Turkish Penal Code Art. 277), which states: 'Any person who attempts to unlawfully influence a judicial officer, expert witness, or witness in a pending case to induce them to make a decision, perform an act, or provide a statement that would result in a favorable or unfavorable outcome for one of the parties, the defendant, the complainant, or the victim, in order to prevent the truth from emerging or to create an injustice, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from two to four years.' The suspects have been apprehended and taken into custody as part of this investigation."