12punto columnist Müyesser Yıldız recounts the detention process of reporter Elif Akkuş

12punto journalist and columnist Müyesser Yıldız has recounted the experiences of Elif Akkuş, who has worked at TRT for 25 years and was suspended for 3 months without justification some time ago, during and after her detention process.

''AN ARREST WARRANT WAS ISSUED IN ANKARA''

Müyesser Yıldız described the process as follows:

''For days, a human tragedy has been unfolding in the name of 'law.' Let us explain it step by step. Elif Akkuş worked at TRT for 25 years. She served in war zones. She witnessed the Mavi Marmara ship raid and reported on the conflicts in Libya and Syria. Then, she was suspended without justification.

While she was fighting a legal battle against TRT, an arrest warrant was issued for her a few days ago. Her home in Istanbul was searched. Elif Akkuş was in Ankara at the time. Upon learning of the incident, she went to the police station. She was detained. The justification for the detention and arrest warrant was the allegation that she was the 'source of information' for posts made from an anonymous X (formerly Twitter) account regarding nepotism and public spending at TRT.

''HER BLOOD PRESSURE SPIKED IN THE FIRST MOMENTS OF DETENTION''

Elif Akkuş has a history of serious illness. She underwent brain surgery last year and had a stent inserted; she also suffers from high blood pressure. Indeed, her blood pressure spiked in the first moments of her detention. She was unable to stand. She was taken to the Ankara Gazi Mustafa Kemal Vocational and Environmental Diseases Hospital. Although her condition was explained and her medical reports were presented, her treatment began only with the administration of a sublingual pill. Her condition did not improve. Her lawyers, Hüseyin Ersöz and Nazlı Çubuklu, went to the Prosecutor to explain her situation and requested that Akkuş be transferred to Medicana, where the doctors who performed her surgery are located. Somehow, the request was accepted. Elif Akkuş was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit at the hospital to which she was taken.

''THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE PRESSED FOR A STATEMENT''

When she was moved to a regular ward a day later, the Prosecutor's Office pressed for a statement. Akkuş's blood pressure spiked again. Doctors stated that she could not give a statement under these conditions. When the insistence on a statement continued, a doctor suggested, 'If it continues like this, her blood pressure will keep rising. Let her give her statement and be done with it.' Ultimately, the police took Akkuş's statement at her hospital bed around noon today. The phone call received by the lawyers was encouraging; the Prosecutor had ended the detention and requested that she be brought to the Courthouse as soon as she was discharged.

''KEPT IN POLICE CUSTODY DESPITE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE''

And what happened next? In the evening, the hospital decided to discharge Elif Akkuş abruptly. The reason? According to information received, after the Prosecutor's Office lifted the detention order, they called the hospital administration and requested that Akkuş be discharged! The hospital complied with this and notified the police. Currently, Elif Akkuş, who is no longer under a detention order, is being taken from the hospital to the Courthouse under police custody with blood pressure readings of 18/7.

This is the latest work of those who call upon the world for 'law and conscience.' We have no salt left to preserve anything. In a word, it is shameful!''

Elif Akkuş's lawyer in Ankara, Nazlı Çubuklu, wanted to meet with the police to obtain information, but no information was provided regarding the matter because there is a confidentiality order on the file.

News Source: Müyesser Yıldız