Demirören denies, Altıntaş refutes! A panorama of the fatal accident involving Eylem Tok's son...

17-year-old Timur C. caused a fatal accident while driving a luxury vehicle without a license and was smuggled abroad by his mother, the author Eylem Tok. Audio recordings released on social media yesterday revealed how Yıldırım Demirören, known for his closeness to the AKP, and his family intervened in the incident.

According to the report compiled by soL news; while it was revealed that the Demirören family intervened in the reporting of the incident, the Demirören Holding side continues its attempts at denial despite the published audio recordings. 

Now, Ahmet Hakan, Editor-in-Chief of the Hürriyet newspaper, which operates under Demirören Holding, has begun attempts to deny Demirören's intervention in the incident.

On the other hand, the claim made yesterday by DHA General Manager Celal Korkut that "I was unaware of the situation" was refuted by DHA Reporter Rojda Altıntaş. 

AUDIO RECORDINGS EMERGE

Author Eylem Tok’s 17-year-old son, Timur C., caused an accident in Istanbul's Eyüpsultan district last March while driving a luxury vehicle without a license, resulting in 1 death and 4 injuries. Following the accident, Eylem Tok smuggled her son abroad to prevent him from being tried.

It was alleged that Cemal Demirören, the son of Yıldırım Demirören, who is known for his closeness to the AKP, was also in the vehicle during the accident, but the matter was quickly hushed up. The telephone conversation recordings shared on social media yesterday revealed the Demirören family's intervention in the incident.

An individual named İlker, who claimed to be the driver of Yıldırım Demirören’s wife, Revna Demirören, had called Demirören News Agency (DHA) reporter Rojda Altıntaş and asked for the accident not to be reported. The recording of the conversation surfaced. In the phone call, the reason given for not reporting the news was that the Demirören family's youngest son was a childhood friend of Eylem Tok’s son, Timur C.

"WAIT FOR NEWS..."

In the second phone call, the reporter had called the individual named "İlker" and asked how she could be sure that he was indeed Revna Demirören’s driver. The driver's response was, "I am not a stranger. Please wait for news from Ms. Revna or Mr. Yıldırım."

The news of the fatal accident that occurred in Istanbul on March 1 was reported by DHA two days later without identifying those involved in the accident. The aforementioned phone recordings showed that DHA had information about the people in the vehicle that caused the fatal accident.

REFUTATION FROM THE REPORTER

Stating that she remained silent for 8 weeks due to concerns for her family, reporter Altıntaş stated, "I was subjected to various pressures by the management of the broadcasting organization I am affiliated with and other circles within the scope of my attempts to obtain and publish new information regarding the 'Eylem Tok' incident, which closely concerns the public."

Following Altıntaş's statement, the Demirören News Agency also published a statement on its social media account in the evening, signed by General Manager Celal Korkut. In the statement, Korkut claimed that DHA had been following and reporting on the incident from the very beginning, and made the following call to reporter Rojda Altıntaş:

"I would have expected my colleague Rojda Altıntaş to share with me clearly what she experienced in the phone calls she recorded and the pressure, if any. I would have told her that there was no situation for her to be upset about or feel under pressure, and on the contrary, we would continue to follow and publish the news in all its aspects. As a senior colleague, since I could not reach her, I am speaking out from here. I expect her to return to work as soon as possible and continue her duties from where she left off."

Following Korkut's statement and call, a response came from Altıntaş. Altıntaş stated that Korkut was aware of the process. Altıntaş stated that Korkut was forced to make the aforementioned call because they were wondering if there were other audio recordings.

Altıntaş's statements are as follows:

"You were aware of everything. You are wondering if there are other audio recordings or images. That is why, despite everything, you have been forced to call me to work from the official DHA account, how sad. However, I will not return to work."

DEFENSE FROM AHMET HAKAN

While Korkut's claim of "I was unaware" was refuted, a defense from the Demirören side also came from Ahmet Hakan, Editor-in-Chief of the Hürriyet newspaper, which operates under the umbrella of Demirören Holding.

He claimed that "they never let go of the incident and never glossed over it." However, with the published audio recordings, it was revealed that the news was reported by DHA two days later without specifying the identities of those involved in the accident.

Hakan's other defense was that the accident was covered in all media outlets of the Demirören Group. However, the response to this defense was given by Özer Aci, the father of Oğuz Murat Aci, who lost his life in the accident.

Speaking to MedyaRadar yesterday, Aci said that a DHA reporter and cameraman came to the funeral and interviewed them, but this news was not used in Demirören Media. Aci said, "When the whole media focused on the issue, the Demirören Group was also caught in this wind. They had to focus on this issue. I appeared on CNN Türk broadcasts. Kanal D came to our house. They published whatever we told them. As I said, they could not ignore this accident."

Hakan continued his defense as follows:

"While we were running these headlines... not even a tiny request came from the Demirören Family, not even once. As the Editor-in-Chief of Hürriyet, I did not encounter even the slightest hint from the Demirören Family. This did not happen in the first news we made after the accident, nor did it happen in the last news we made. It was not even a topic between us. It was not just in Hürriyet either. What happened in all the media outlets of the Demirören Group was no different from this. I strongly recommend that you keep this testimony in mind while watching the claims, discussions, and approaches regarding this issue."

News Source: 12punto