Journalist Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu resigns in 'support' of Merdan Yanardağ: Announced after trustee decision

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched an investigation on Friday morning into Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, his election campaign director Necati Özkan, and Tele1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ on the same charges.

As part of the investigation, police teams searched the channel, and Yanardağ was taken into custody. With a decision made in the evening hours, a trustee was appointed to the TELE 1 channel.

Following this decision, the main news broadcast was halted.

Journalist, 12punto columnist, and TELE 1 programmer Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu reacted to this trustee decision. Stating that the accusations directed at Merdan Yanardağ are not true, Mollaveisoğlu announced that he has decided to resign to show his reaction to what has happened.

TUNCAY MOLLAVEİSOĞLU MADE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT:

A decision has been made to appoint a trustee to Tele 1 television!

We know that a spy will not come out of Merdan Yanardağ. Everyone with a conscience sees what the goal is.

It has become even clearer with the decision to transfer Tele1 to the TMSF that the public's right to receive news is intended to be obscured with such a pretext. I am resigning from all my duties at Tele1 television, where I have worked since the day it was founded, in order to support my close friend Merdan Yanardağ, until Merdan is released and this forced investigation ends with law and justice...

Tele 1 televizyonuna kayyum atama kararı alındı!
Merdan Yanardağ’dan bir casus çıkmayacağını biz biliyoruz. Amacın ne olduğunu vicdan sahibi herkes görüyor.
Halkın haber alma hakkının böyle bir bahaneyle karartılmak istendiği, Tele1’in TMSF’ye devredilme kararı ile iyice açığa…

— Tuncay Mollaveisoglu (@TMollaveisoglu) October 24, 2025

News Source: 12punto