Journalist said 'They are collecting money using the names of Erdoğan and Yerlikaya': Detained in handcuffs

Can Taşkın, a journalist working in Nevşehir, exposed a crime in the city in his column, stating that money was being collected from businesspeople in Nevşehir in the name of the President and the Minister of Interior. Journalist Can Taşkın, who exposed such a situation—which even drew reactions from AKP figures—was detained in handcuffs instead of being congratulated for his reporting.

In a statement made by the social media account named Kendine Muhabir:

"Journalist Can Taşkın, who wrote that money was being collected from businesspeople in Nevşehir in the name of the President and the Minister of Interior, was detained in handcuffs and subsequently arrested. It is a complete lapse of reason that he is being arrested instead of the incident being investigated and the journalist being thanked. What should be investigated is not the journalist, but the scandals he brought to light in the public interest.

In his report, Can Taşkın asked the governor, members of parliament, politicians, and the police, 'Are you aware of this?' Let us also ask the Minister of Justice here: Is the person who should be arrested here the journalist who wrote this report?" the statement read.

Gelin size ancak kabile devletlerinde yaşanabilecek bir olayı anlatayım.

Nevşehir’de Cumhurbaşkanı ve İçişleri Bakanı adına iş insanlarından para toplandığını yazan gazeteci Can Taşkın ters kelepçeyle gözaltına alındı, ardından tutuklandı. Olayın üzerine gidilip gazeteciye…

— Kendine Muhabir (@KendineMuhabir) September 1, 2025

HERE ARE THE STATEMENTS CAN TAŞKIN USED IN HIS REPORT:

I am a journalist of this city. I am someone who writes to call a spade a spade. And my heart aches at the picture I see today.

After my social media post from my personal account, I felt the need to explain the incident further. 

Businesspeople in Nevşehir are unable to pay their checks. Factories are struggling to meet payroll for their workers. In such a period, while I should be seeing the state's hand on the shoulder of the business world, I hear that some bureaucrats are collecting money with lists in their hands.

More painfully: It is said that this money is being requested with the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the instructions of Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya!

Mr. President, Mr. Minister,

Extortion is practically being committed in this city using your names. While you represent a strong state, an perception is being created here as if the state is penniless. While you are trying to protect the reputation of this country, pressure is being put on the business world here through your names.

So, are Nevşehir's members of parliament Süleyman Özgün, Emre Çalışkan, and Filiz Kılıç not aware of this disgrace? Of course they are. But why are they silent? Why do they not stand by the businesspeople of this city?

Provincial chairs… Provincial chairs of all parties from the AK Party to the MHP, from the CHP to the IYI Party, why have you remained silent? Has politics in this city become just an art of grabbing seats?

And NGOs… Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Arif Parmaksız, Commodity Exchange President İbrahim Salaş… NESİAD and MÜSIAD, why are you silent? Why can you not come out and say, "This is wrong"?

PRESIDENTIAL CHIEF ADVISOR OKTAY SARAL HAD SHOWN THIS REACTION TO THOSE USING ERDOĞAN'S NAME

Presidential Chief Advisor Oktay Saral issued a warning to those who portray themselves as people of the cause by using the name of President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In his social media post, Saral stated, "We say it clearly to those who use our President's name as a curtain for their own profit schemes: This cause does not fit into your bags or your personal interest calculations!"

News Source: 12punto