Journalist Furkan Karabay placed under house arrest

Furkan Karabay, who was detained during the night, was referred to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan.

Lawyer Enes Ermaner had announced yesterday that journalist Furkan Karabay had been detained.

In a statement on his social media account, Karabay's lawyer Ermaner said, "Journalist Furkan Karabay has been detained within the scope of the IMM investigation on charges of publicly disseminating misleading information in accordance with Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)."

In his statement to the prosecutor, Furkan Karabay said, "The documents for the reports I have written exist. My previous reports are also clear. My journalistic activity is also clear. They all carry concrete reality. Therefore, there is no such thing as disseminating misleading information. I do not accept the charges. I request to be released."

Karabay's lawyer Enes Ermaner said, "Given the existence and authenticity of the documents, it is clear that there is no misleading information, and therefore the public dissemination of this non-misleading information cannot even be charged as a crime."

HOUSE ARREST GRANTED

Furkan Karabay was referred to the judge with a request for his arrest.

Following his statement to the judge, Furkan Karabay was placed under house arrest. Journalist Fatoş Erdoğan shared the statement made by his lawyer Enes Ermaner upon leaving the courthouse:

"The reports Furkan wrote were based on real documents. Therefore, they did not contain 'misleading information' in any way. It was legally impossible to charge him with a crime due to misleading information. As a matter of fact, after our statement to the prosecutor, the prosecution requested his arrest under the 'Anti-Terror Law' without telling us anything and without taking our defense. When we look at the news reports that are the subject of the crime, the names of the prosecutors who were allegedly victimized or targeted were not mentioned in the relevant reports at all. Under these circumstances, it is neither legally nor practically possible for prosecutors whose names are not even mentioned in the report to be targeted. However, at the point we have reached, unfortunately, Furkan has received a travel ban for the crime of 'targeting' and a house arrest decision for the crime of 'publicly disseminating misleading information.' Furkan knows that what he did is not a crime because what Furkan did is journalism. Even if Furkan were to be tried and sentenced for this, he would not have to go to prison for even a single day. Because of this report he wrote, Furkan will face the measure of house arrest for days, perhaps weeks, perhaps even months. We will appeal these decisions. I hope our appeals will result positively and this illegality will come to an end."

News Source: 12punto