Journalist Ercan Küçük's phone seized, investigation launched: NATO-linked association report

Journalist Ercan Küçük, who is under investigation for a report he wrote on soL regarding a NATO-linked association, has had his phone and SIM card seized. While Küçük emphasized that the report was an act of journalism, his lawyer stated that the decision was arbitrary.

Lawyer Mustafa Veysel Güldoğan filed a criminal complaint with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office over the report published on soL titled "A cross-party organizational network: Pro-NATO youth in the incubator."

The prosecutor conducting the investigation summoned journalist Ercan Küçük to provide a statement.

Küçük: 'What I did is an act of journalism'

In his statement, Ercan Küçük emphasized that the report he wrote was an act of journalism.

In his defense, Küçük stated that the information in the report could be found even with a simple search of open sources. Expressing that he is an anti-NATO journalist, Küçük noted that there were no statements in the report that could be subject to the accusations against him and that he did not accept the charges.

Küçük's lawyer also argued that the elements of the crimes alleged against his client were not met, stating that a decision of non-prosecution should be issued regarding the investigation.

Alleged to contain false and manipulative information

The complaint petition alleged that the report in question contained false and manipulative information about the Turkish Atlantic Council and its president, Mustafa Veysel Güldoğan.

The petition claimed that the report committed the crimes of "publicly disseminating misleading information," "insult via the press," "slander," and "disturbing the peace and tranquility of individuals."

Furthermore, it was argued that the expressions used in the report portrayed the association as a "dark organizational network" and that this was of a nature that could disrupt public order.

Phone and SIM card seized

Within the scope of the investigation, the prosecutor's office requested the seizure of Küçük's mobile phone and the SIM card inside it.

The request asked for the phone to be examined and, if deemed necessary, for all data to be backed up and analyzed. It was requested that the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command Criminal Laboratory Directorate be authorized for the digital examination.

Küçük's lawyer: 'The investigation has turned into a tool for punishment'

Ercan Küçük's lawyer, Mustafa Mert Doğan, emphasized that the seizure decision was not based on a legal justification and that the investigation had effectively turned into a tool for punishment.

Doğan stated that the prosecutor seized the phone and SIM card solely at their own discretion without providing any legal justification, and expressed that the accusations could not be linked to any evidence that could be obtained through the phone or SIM card.

According to the defense, the decision in question aims to create pressure on the journalist despite there being no criminal elements in the investigation file.

Küçük's report: Pro-NATO youth in the incubator

In his report published on December 8, 2025, Küçük described how the establishment politics in Turkey, regardless of whether they are nationalist, liberal, conservative, or social democratic, continue to produce pro-American and pro-NATO figures of every stripe.

Touching upon how the Nationalist Congress Association created an important channel within this broad pro-NATO youth network, Küçük drew attention to how young pro-NATO figures are trained in various Turkish think-tank organizations.

News Source: 12punto