T-Soft CEO detained and held in custody: 'There was no need for mistreatment'

Ömer Arıkan, CEO of T-Soft, one of Turkey's leading e-commerce infrastructure providers, made a notable post on his social media account on LinkedIn. Arıkan announced that police officers who came to his company office yesterday detained him, stating, "There is an arrest warrant for you."

Stating that he was taken to the Çağlayan Courthouse, Arıkan said he was placed in a holding cell located on the -7th floor. The CEO also alleged that he was subjected to mistreatment during his time there.

"I had business at the notary today, I finished it and came to our office on the back street. Immediately after, 2 police officers came to the office and said that I was wanted and that I had to go with them. They did not allow my friends from the company to drop me off.

They took me to the hospital in a police car, and after the health check, we came to the Çağlayan Courthouse. On the -7th floor, they took my belongings and my phone, did not tell me my crime, and put me in a room behind bars. There were 10 of us inside.

I stayed there for about an hour. There was no clock inside. I was hearing from others in the room that it was 'a place God forgot,' that 'I could stay there for 5 days,' etc. When I called, no one came, and they did not allow me to communicate with my lawyer.

Then they took me and brought me to the courthouse. When they took my statement, I learned that a person named E.E., who searched for a number on the internet for a vehicle inspection appointment in 2024, had paid 749 TL and was actually defrauded, and had filed a complaint as a result. I was being sought as the owner of this number.

Upon researching, I learned that this number was a phone line that we had opened on behalf of our company in 2021 and had closed again in 2023. The line was not even under our name on the date of the crime. I gave my statement by sharing this information and was released.

However;

1-There was no need for mistreatment.

2-There was no need to put me behind bars.

3-There was no need to occupy 2 police officers, a doctor, and a police car for this incident.

4-The state should have known that the relevant line was not under my company's name on the date of the crime.

5-They could have invited me, taken my statement at my office, or given me an appointment.

6-They should not have deprived me of my freedom of communication.

7-They should have put clocks in the holding cells.

In the meantime, I had an online meeting with Meta. I stated that I could not attend because I was in jail, apologized, and set a new date.

I will be at my office at the head of my work tomorrow morning and I will live in my country until I die, but many others who do not want to experience these things unfortunately leave the country."

"I APOLOGIZE TO EVERYONE"

In a subsequent post, thanking those for their messages of support, Arıkan noted the following:

"Beyond the interaction approaching a million on LinkedIn alone, the situation got out of control with those who reshared my post on Twitter and other platforms with screenshots. I would not want to be the cause of belittling our state or making our institutions look weak. I made you a partner in my concerns and ruined your day. I apologize to everyone for this."

News Source: 12punto