Call from Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Turan Karakaş to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the General Directorate of Foundations: "Justice delayed is not justice"

Cumhuriyet newspaper, which is as old as the Republic of Turkey, is perhaps going through the most difficult and critical days in its history.

This time, the situation is far different from the "traditional" internal foundation and newspaper disputes described by Cumhuriyet employees, executives, and readers.

The 100-year-old Cumhuriyet is on the agenda not because of internal debates, but because allegations of the sale of its priceless archive and the publication of manipulative news in favor of a company in exchange for off-the-books money have been taken to the judiciary.

The fact that the issue of news in exchange for money—which Foundation President Alev Coşkun initially announced by saying "We took it but returned it" but later chose to deny alongside his associates—frequently finds its way onto the agenda has caused deep sorrow for Cumhuriyet employees and readers.

Lawyer Turan Karakaş, who took the allegations to the judiciary, is struggling with compensation lawsuits because he reported a criminal allegation to the authorities, despite still being a member of the Cumhuriyet Foundation Board of Directors. Moreover, Cumhuriyet Foundation President Alev Coşkun did not settle for just filing a compensation lawsuit; he also filed a complaint against Karakaş with the bar association.

Stating that it is almost impossible for Cumhuriyet newspaper to survive unless it is governed by a set of rules and regulations, Karakaş says, "I have made calls in this direction many times. Without law, transparency, written rules, and democratic participation, you cannot manage a newspaper as important to Turkey as Cumhuriyet. Cumhuriyet is a newspaper that is always targeted by those in power. Conversely, if you do not govern it with the law, you surrender the newspaper to the will of those in power."

Turan Karakaş, a defense lawyer for victims of the Ergenekon conspiracy, answered 12punto's questions regarding what is happening at Cumhuriyet newspaper.

How did your relationship with Cumhuriyet newspaper begin?

I was born in 1947. I am a graduate of Ankara University Faculty of Law. Uğur Mumcu, whom I always remember with great respect, was working as an assistant to Professor Tahsin Bekir Balta in those years.

A group of us students loved Uğur Mumcu very much. It was as if we had a kinship spanning many years. The source of our love and respect for Uğur Mumcu in those years stemmed from our ideological camaraderie. We listened to the lectures and conferences of Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Tarık Zafer Tunaya, Mümtaz Soysal, Prof. Dr. Server Tanilli, Atilla İlhan, and many other intellectuals and professors who were their comrades, and we read their books. We tried to learn something and improve ourselves.

My interest in and respect for Cumhuriyet newspaper began in my high school years. In my professional life, an important understanding and belief were added to this interest and respect. That is the sense and feeling of responsibility and solidarity I feel toward Cumhuriyet newspaper.

How did you meet Cumhuriyet Foundation President Alev Coşkun?

I have known Mr. Coşkun since the debates on the "middle-of-the-road" left, his time as provincial chairman, and his years as Minister of Tourism. In the years I first knew him, he was a political figure known to many people in Turkey and especially in İzmir. I, too, as an individual from the masses, came to know Mr. Alev. He later came to Cumhuriyet newspaper as an executive. We have been in closer communication since those years. He also got to know me. A human relationship based on respect began between us.

In recent years, there was a lawsuit regarding the election of the Cumhuriyet Foundation Board of Directors. One side was led by Alev Coşkun, and the other by the late Orhan Erinç. The Alev Coşkun side won the case, and the foundation management changed. You were elected to the board of directors with this change in management. Did you have any involvement in this lawsuit?

Yes, I contributed to the lawsuit at Mr. Alev's request. The lawsuit had already been filed during the months I became involved in the process. I tried to help as much as I could. My involvement in the case is limited to this.

What changed as a result of the lawsuit? What was the gain for Cumhuriyet newspaper at the end of the process?

There were serious criticisms that the existing management was implementing practices contrary to the newspaper's ideological direction and changing the newspaper's identity. Cumhuriyet's stance against imperialism is clear; it defends democracy, independence, and public interest. However, it was observed that the newspaper was being criticized on the basis that it was becoming liberalized during that period. The management at the center of these criticisms was changed. The goal was to defend the values of the Cumhuriyet reader and increase the newspaper's circulation. The newly elected management believed they would achieve this.

What was your role in the foundation management?

I was elected to the Cumhuriyet Foundation Board of Directors. Later, I was elected to the Executive Board. I was also appointed as the board member responsible for the foundation's legal affairs on the Foundation Executive Board. I experienced my first disappointment during this process. Cumhuriyet was not being managed systematically. It was not being managed according to regulations. Executives were participating in votes by "raising and lowering their hands." I was uncomfortable with this situation. I explained it to Mr. Alev Coşkun in my own way several times. I said, "Look, this management style is a lawless management style. You are not managing according to the law. You are managing this place according to orders. This is not a correct practice."

While such discussions were taking place in meetings, no one other than a few board members ever raised a single objection to this situation. I was surprised because board members who had written so much and tried to influence public opinion did not care about my call: "This is Cumhuriyet newspaper; it must be managed by law and regulations. We will keep this special newspaper alive and grow it with a set of rules. Let the newspaper be managed by law; let us set rules." They did not do it. They supported the arbitrary management approach.

Cumhuriyet newspaper is on the agenda again recently. Some foundation board members, including you, called for Alev Coşkun's resignation. Mutual lawsuits were filed. Countless news and comments appeared in the media. A reactive attitude toward you, in particular, is observed. What happened? How did these discussions or tensions reach this point?

The reason for the disagreement here is very clear. It is based on two reasons, two actions, and facts.

The first is that I reported the 'fraud' allegation regarding the Cumhuriyet newspaper archive to the prosecutor's office with a criminal complaint as the attorney for the foundation and Yeni Gün A.Ş.

The second is that I reported the allegation of 'publishing news in exchange for money' in favor of a large company by Cumhuriyet newspaper to the prosecutor's office, again as the attorney for the foundation and the company. (The allegation of the crime of breach of trust due to service)...

The hostile attitudes and actions of some people in the foundation management toward me have two reasons as a result. The process of publishing news in exchange for money and the attempt to sell the Cumhuriyet newspaper archive section by section as NFTs in violation of the law... I did not remain indifferent to the danger of a possible loss of rights.

These developments occurred with the permission of a few people in the foundation and company management, and dangerous actions were carried out. I warned the executives in writing and verbally. I said, "If we remain indifferent to what is happening, if we do not take precautions, if we do not take legal action, we will do the greatest harm in the newspaper's history, and we will be the cause and perpetrators of a shameful process."

I tried to explain that we could face an unforeseen danger in an area we did not know, and that there was a possibility of a crime. This could have created a process that would bind all these board members and be difficult to overcome.

I obtained three scientific reports. I presented the reports to the Cumhuriyet Foundation Board of Directors. I shared them with all the members.

I saw that a few executives were persistently and determinedly trying to cover up the incident of attempting to sell the newspaper's archive as NFTs through a cryptocurrency company.

Some mysterious people from Ankara were making efforts to sell our newspaper's archive. Later, I learned that these people had come to the newspaper as representatives of the cryptocurrency company and had gone to the cryptocurrency company as if they were representatives of Cumhuriyet. The mere presence and actions of these two people alone show that there was malicious intent. Although I persistently asked who these people were, some members of the Cumhuriyet Foundation Board of Directors remained silent.

I was very surprised. I did not accuse anyone. I researched this issue and put the findings and suggestions in front of the Cumhuriyet Foundation Board of Directors. The executives, especially Mr. Alev, thanked me for my work. Mr. Alev openly admitted the NFT incident and the fact that money was received from an e-commerce company to publish news in the presence of everyone at board meetings. He also told people known to the public that he accepted it. Especially the issue of publishing news in exchange for money was also discussed at the Editorial Board meeting, and he accepted what happened with all its clarity. However, they dragged out my demands of "If we are dragging the newspaper into a great loss, let us do what is necessary." Let me not forget, Mr. Alev also made this confession to one of the most respected writers of the newspaper. The words "We took the money but returned it" were both written on the writer's personal blog and reported by the media.

Who were these two people you referred to as mysterious?

I don't know them personally, but their names are known. There are two people named İsmail Hoca and Yiğit Karakış. I researched who they were a lot, but they hid it. I asked at the Board of Directors meeting. Some foundation executives knew these people, but despite my persistent questioning of who these people were and how they got involved in this business, they chose to remain silent. They avoided saying "We know them or we don't know them." Can you imagine? Two people who have no organic connection to the newspaper are negotiating with a cryptocurrency company to turn the 100-year-old archive into NFTs. This was a truly astonishing process.

Naturally, you, as the attorney for the foundation and the company, took action...

Yes... I took action from the moment I thought there was a suspicious and dangerous situation. Our first task was to warn Mr. Alev and call for the necessary actions to be taken within the legal framework to eliminate the risks. I was the attorney for both the Cumhuriyet Foundation and Yeni Gün A.Ş., which publishes the newspaper. I am also still a member of the foundation's board of directors. I was responsible for the foundation's legal affairs. Therefore, I am also responsible for the investigation of these actions I mentioned.

I also have criminal liability. According to Article 1 of the Attorneyship Law No. 1136, attorneyship is a public service and a free profession. An attorney is independent in performing their duty. Their duty is to assist official and private boards and institutions. To this end, they dedicate their legal knowledge and experience to the service of justice and the benefit of individuals.

I also have responsibilities as a public official. I have a responsibility as a foundation executive. Failure of a public official to report a crime, as defined in Article 279 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), is a crime. For this crime to occur, the public official must learn about the commission of a crime requiring investigation and prosecution on behalf of the public in connection with their duty and neglect to report it to the competent authorities or delay in this regard.

An attorney is obliged to fulfill their reporting obligation without delay in accordance with Article 279 of the Turkish Penal Code if they learn of a crime related to the activities they carry out as part of their duty.

In short, as an attorney, when I learn of a criminal allegation, I am obliged to report the crime to the relevant institutions because I am responsible as a public official within the framework of the laws I listed above. Otherwise, I could face the danger of being tried as a public official.

Attorneys are considered public officials. Therefore, when they are involved in a crime, they are tried as public officials. Naturally, you must have been worried. So, how did the process proceed afterward?

At first, I was thanked for my sensitivity. How sensitive an executive I was was voiced, praises, etc... Then the color of the business started to change. Although my criminal and legal responsibilities were very clear, pressure was put on me not to deal with this suspicious business. I was persistently asked to drop this matter. Can you imagine? I was asked to betray my newspaper for no reason and accept criminal liability. Despite my warnings, the risk at hand was ignored, and an attempt was made to cover it up. No precautions were taken.

How was the risk you were trying to draw attention to, the events we defined as a "suspicious situation," covered up?

It began to be claimed that the newspaper was not harmed. Yet, first and foremost, I was focused on taking precautions if there was a malicious attempt. Some things do not tolerate mistakes. The law is like that too. Time does not tolerate mistakes. You look and see that the worst-case scenario has occurred. Cumhuriyet is a newspaper entrusted to us, belonging to the public. Should one remain indifferent to its existence being in danger?

Were your persistent warnings about possible risks not taken seriously?

It is painful that some board members remained silent in the face of this situation. As if such an event never happened... In accordance with the principles I have been bound to throughout my life, I did not accept injustice. With their knowledge, I reported the situation to the prosecutor's office as an attorney.

There are important names in the management and editorial staff of Cumhuriyet newspaper. It has always been that way. How can one remain indifferent to such a situation?

I emphasized it a moment ago. Such an important newspaper, a newspaper so important for enlightenment, the republic, freedom of the press, and contemporary life, is managed not by regulations and rules but by orders. Supposedly, voting is done, and some people just raise and lower their hands.

You filed a criminal complaint by acting within the framework of the facts you cited as the basis for your complaint and the evidence proving the facts... What kind of reaction was shown to you upon this?

The first fact I cited as the basis for my complaint is the allegation of fraud regarding the Cumhuriyet newspaper archive.

The foundation and company management, Yeni Gün Haber Ajansı Basın ve Yayıncılık A.Ş., appointed me as their attorney with powers of attorney issued by the Beyoğlu 10th Notary and Beyoğlu 3rd Notary since 2018.

I was the permanent attorney for the Cumhuriyet Foundation from 2018 to 2023. It will be like repeating, but I was also a member of the board of directors and executive board responsible for legal affairs at the Cumhuriyet Foundation. Now, only my board membership continues.

Some company and foundation executives persistently asked me to cover up these facts and withdraw the prosecutor's office petitions. This is a very clear crime. According to TCK Article 279, I cannot have such authority. The foundation's property is directly facing the danger of being taken away through fraud. "My duty is to protect the rights of the foundation. It is not to cover up the crimes of some people," I said, and I resolutely rejected this demand that some of the foundation and company executives made of me.

You use the phrase "They wanted it to be covered up." The allegations you took to the judiciary and the process experienced do not seem like things that can be covered up. It is also said that it happened in public. What was your observation?

Everything was open, clear, and very precise. The subject was discussed many times. In every meeting, an attempt was made to turn it into a mess of words. The issue was diluted. I persistently said, "Let us do our duty as management, let us eliminate the risks; the burden of our responsibilities and authorities requires this. Let the judiciary evaluate and decide on whatever there is regarding the subject, not us."

There is also a situation like this. It is not possible for everyone to know everything. We are all human, and we can be mistaken. I obtained scientific reports to avoid doing anything wrong in this regard. To be able to prove a possible risk, to not make a mistake during our tenure at Cumhuriyet, I approached the matter with seriousness and sensitivity. What was this risk? The loss of the Cumhuriyet archive. Moreover, I obtained not one but three scientific reports.

And as a result, you went to the judiciary?

Yes... Because despite all my efforts, the risks regarding Cumhuriyet did not disappear. It was not just Cumhuriyet; the problems that all the executives in this process could face depending on their legal responsibilities were clear. I say "law," I say "judiciary," but I was facing a hostile attitude.

During this process, some news was published in Cumhuriyet newspaper and on the internet portal. It was written that the newspaper was being attacked and an attempt was being made to seize it. What would you say?

Yes, when we look at it, if Cumhuriyet newspaper has been seized, it has been seized by those who constantly accuse others of trying to seize the newspaper. It has been seized by those who target people with baseless, unsubstantiated accusations, those who accuse their colleagues of being 'operation journalists,' and those who comb through social media posts written by employees years ago. It has been seized by people who find it not at all in their interest to manage with law and regulations. Look at the people they accuse of attacking the newspaper. I am a board member, I am an executive board member. Everyone from those who manage the company to the foundation executives, from those who manage the editorial staff of the printed newspaper to those who manage the website, had a position and will. No one disregarded their position or office, and no one remained indifferent to the unethical developments. Some resigned, and I chose to go to the judiciary. Slandering those who say "Cumhuriyet is important, it must be protected, it must be managed by law, not by orders" is, first of all, not humane.

They announced that a decision of non-prosecution was given regarding your criminal complaints. What would you say about this?

There were two investigation files here. First, the file with investigation number 2023/106745 is related to the event called NFT and contains the fraud allegations.

First, it was decided that the crime subject to this file should be investigated by the Intellectual and Industrial Rights Investigation Bureau, and the file was sent to this bureau and registered with investigation number 2023/128358.

Meanwhile, the foundation and the company dismissed me from my attorneyship duty and submitted a petition to withdraw the complaint to the investigation file. Since the crimes related to "allegations of infringement of material and moral rights" investigated by the Intellectual and Industrial Rights Bureau are subject to complaint, and the complainant foundation and company withdrew the complaint, a decision of "no grounds for prosecution due to lack of complaint against the suspects" was given in the investigation file numbered 2023/128358.

However, the file was separated by the Intellectual and Industrial Rights Investigation Bureau and sent back to the forgery and fraud bureau. In short, the investigation of the file with investigation number 2023/106745 at the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office forgery and fraud bureau is ongoing, and there is no decision of non-prosecution given regarding this file.

The path of the investigation was blocked by submitting a petition to withdraw the complaint. This is not a normal situation.

The file with investigation number 2023/122759 is related to the allegations of publishing manipulative news by receiving off-the-books money. This subject is a very big ethical problem, especially for journalists. Moreover, in many dimensions... An attempt was made to change the will of the Parliament with manipulative news. News against the e-commerce law was presented to the readers who bought the newspaper as objective news. There is also a tax dimension to off-the-books money. No earnings declaration was made. Therefore, it means that the crime of tax evasion also occurred. Both the NFT issue and the issue of publishing manipulative news in exchange for money will be understood in their importance when looked at by the prosecutor's office with sufficient sensitivity. How important the subject is will only become clear with the filing of a public lawsuit. As a lawyer of many years, I believe that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will approach the matter with sensitivity, especially when the manipulation of the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) will is in question.

Returning to the issue of non-prosecution...

Two days after my complaint, the foundation and company management hastily dismissed me from my attorneyship duty, as I mentioned above. With this dismissal, they submitted the petition to withdraw the complaint to the investigation file. Two days after this event, a decision of non-prosecution was given without examining the evidence, without conducting the necessary research and investigation, and without even taking the statements of the suspects.

Does the granting of non-prosecution mean that this crime was not committed?

Legally, it does not always mean this. In the decision given in this file, there is no decision stating that the suspects did not commit the crime subject to the file. With the withdrawal of the complaint in favor of the suspects, the prosecutor's office made a different assessment. That is that the suspects' employment contracts at the newspaper could be terminated for just cause and the event could be the subject of a compensation lawsuit. Looking from here, the following question arises in our minds; Why would the will that withdrew the complaint in favor of the suspects terminate the employment contracts of the same suspects and file a compensation claim with the allegation that they harmed the newspaper? If they thought so, they wouldn't have withdrawn the complaint anyway?

You said you were dismissed from your attorneyship duty at the Cumhuriyet Foundation and Yeni Gün A.Ş. This is the latest situation reflected in the public. Is there anything else you would like to say about this dismissal decision?

Yes, they dismissed me to prevent the trial of the people I complained about on suspicion of trying to seize the foundation's property through fraud, and also these people who published news in favor of a company in exchange for money, and moreover, against the law. This dismissal is a completely dishonest dismissal. It is unjust. It is an attempt to cover up the process.

What happened after you were dismissed?

I mentioned it a moment ago, but let me repeat. After my dismissal, some executives instructed their lawyers and withdrew the criminal complaint I had made. Cumhuriyet Foundation is being openly sacrificed for personal interests and benefits.

To put it more clearly, while I was fighting a struggle to report those who target the reputation, reliability, and values of Cumhuriyet newspaper and those who harm its existence to the prosecutor's office and to eliminate possible dangers, some executives, despite being in a suspicious position, acted together with other people who were also in a suspicious position like themselves, dismissed me, and agreed among themselves.

People who were in a suspicious position in the criminal complaint signed a secret protocol among themselves without having signature authority. It is impossible to make sense of this situation. A great distortion is being experienced. It is a situation that is difficult to exemplify and explain.

Meanwhile, all these developments also mobilized the General Directorate of Foundations. I assume that the General Directorate of Foundations is meticulously examining other irregularities in addition to these two issues. The inspection regarding the issues where there is such concrete evidence is ongoing. However, the prolongation of the report process could lead to the continuation of the mentioned mistakes and the emergence of new irregularities. I hope that the General Directorate of Foundations inspection will be completed immediately in terms of preventing the foundation and our Cumhuriyet newspaper from suffering irreparable damage.

Could the judiciary and the public, and even the journalists within Cumhuriyet, comprehend this complex situation, or in your words, the distorted situation?

In my opinion, the foundation executives and important names of Cumhuriyet, who were informed in detail about the process, are extremely aware of the distortion. Everyone knows everything down to the finest detail. They chose to remain silent, to ignore what happened, and to protect their columns and titles. The argument hidden behind is always the same: "Cumhuriyet should not be harmed, let the arm be broken but stay inside the sleeve"... But by doing this, great harm is done to Cumhuriyet.

Some choose to run away and stay away from facing it. Because this process is such a great reality that one needs to be a professional to deny or defend it. Because they cannot deny the confessions they witnessed themselves, and because they are crushed under the weight of this truth, they run away.

When do you think the facts about these events, for which you have started a legal struggle, will emerge?

A contract was signed between the Cumhuriyet Foundation and Yeni Gün Haber Ajansı Basın Ve Yayıncılık A.Ş. According to this contract, Yeni Gün A.Ş. publishes Cumhuriyet newspaper. Whether the events subject to the complaint here are true or not will emerge with the examination of the copyright and the contract leasing the right to publish the newspaper between Yeni Gün A.Ş. and the Cumhuriyet Foundation by the disciplinary board. How the illegalities were committed in the newspaper will emerge with all its clarity after this contract text is examined.

How can the Cumhuriyet reader understand this process better? What can you say about the file with investigation number 2023/106745 of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office?

To put it briefly, there is a 100-year-old archive containing all the issues of Cumhuriyet newspaper, of which the Cumhuriyet Foundation is the concessionaire and which is very valuable in terms of Turkish history, and this archive can also be viewed digitally by the newspaper's subscribers.

Some officials of Yeni Gün A.Ş., which publishes the newspaper, wanted to sign a contract with the officials of a company named ICRYPEX Bilişim A. Ş. in order to turn the newspaper's digital archive into NFTs.

It was claimed that the Cumhuriyet newspaper archive could be turned into NFTs and sold, and in this way, the foundation and the company could earn around 60 million TL.

Some of the employees of Yeni Gün A.Ş. carried out some transactions without the knowledge of the company and the Cumhuriyet Foundation management, without signing any contract with the ICRYPEX company officials, in the direction of turning the newspaper archive into NFTs. By giving the newspaper archive to the cryptocurrency company without the permission of the foundation management, they caused the archive pages, all rights of which belong to the Cumhuriyet Foundation, to be turned into NFTs.

Upon this, I did research on NFTs. When I realized that if the newspaper archive was turned into NFTs, the foundation and the newspaper would suffer financial damage, because the intellectual rights of the NFTs made would legally belong to the company that made the NFT, I informed the foundation and company management as an attorney on this subject.

Later, I learned that although the contract was not signed, the digital archive of the newspaper was given to the ICRYPEX company by some officials of the complainant company.

I obtained scientific opinions from experts in the field of mediation. I presented these opinions to the Cumhuriyet Foundation management. I informed the foundation management at the meetings that I would apply to the prosecutor's office as the attorney for the complainant foundation and company.

Publishing news in line with the interests of a large e-commerce company, presenting manipulative news to readers, receiving off-the-books money in exchange for news, fundamentally contradicting journalistic principles, and trying to influence the Constitutional Court process through the media... Can we examine this subject a little bit?

As you know, I also took the allegation that Cumhuriyet newspaper published news in exchange for money in favor of a company to the judiciary as an attorney.

An e-mail was sent to the client and all other foundation members on 16.05.2023 by Ali Adnan Aslan, Board Member and Vice President of Yeni Gün Haber Ajansı Basın ve Yayıncılık A.Ş., which holds the publishing rights of Cumhuriyet newspaper.

In this e-mail; it was stated that some transactions contrary to the foundation deed and the foundations law were carried out, which lowered the brand value of Cumhuriyet newspaper, which is the property of the foundation, and would cause great material and moral damage and loss of reputation to the foundation.

To put it more clearly, Ali Adnan Aslan stated that he learned that news was published in exchange for money, that this was unacceptable, informed the board of directors, and also conveyed how he learned about the event.

What was written in this e-mail was read by the foundation board members and caused astonishment. Upon this, Cumhuriyet Foundation and Company Board Chairman Alev Coşkun called the foundation board of directors to an extraordinary meeting on 22.5.2023 to discuss the mentioned allegations. At the meeting I attended, it turned out that the event was true, and it was discussed in detail. In addition, the receipt of the money was also accepted at the meeting attended by the editorial staff and members of the Editorial Board, and economic contraction and problems were put forward as the reason.

The subject was discussed openly, and questions were directed to the Chairman. That is, there is nothing secret or hidden. He tried to pull the event to another dimension by saying "Did we take it and put it in our pockets?" every time, and said that the money was taken for the newspaper's expenses. However, this is not the subject of the discussion. The subject is ethics. The essence of the matter is the destruction of Cumhuriyet's principled values. It is the erosion of Cumhuriyet's reliability and seriousness. It is the reduction of its brand value and respectability. Moreover, how can off-the-books money be defended? Are there no rules or laws? The abnormal situation is the normalization of this.

Do you think you were left a little alone in this struggle of yours?

The real strangeness, in my view, is that those who are witnesses to what happened down to the finest detail act in line with their interests and cover up the truth. This is a subject that concerns journalists the most in its ethical dimension. What is most surprising to me is the silence of journalists, columnists, and the many-titled executives in the foundation management. Also, I don't think I was left alone. Many people supported me regarding my rightfulness. For example, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Barış Doster, one of the foundation's board members, also requested to participate in these investigation files as a complainant.

You seem to have demonstrated your commitment to professional principles above all else.

As I mentioned before, in case of neglect of duty or abuse of office (TCK Article 257) by an attorney, they are punished as a public official. If I had not reported the situation to the Public Prosecutor's Office as a public official, I could have been punished according to Articles 257 and 279 of the Turkish Penal Code. How can it be expected from an attorney who does their duty with honor and honesty to cover up the actions of company officials who have strong evidence and facts that they committed a crime?

Has any decision or report come out from either the prosecutor's office or the Regional Directorate of Foundations? A long time has passed since the discussions were reflected in the judiciary and the media. Why do you think it was delayed?

This delay is sad. There is no decision that evaluates our evidence one by one. This is a great injustice done to Cumhuriyet newspaper and the newspaper's readers. The rights of the newspaper and its readers will be sought to the end. If necessary, I will apply to the highest complaint authorities. The foundation of the state is justice. Justice delayed is not justice. For example, why was the contract between Cumhuriyet newspaper and Yeni Gün A.Ş. not requested by the prosecutor's office? Why was it not requested by the Regional Directorate of Foundations? This document is very important. For example, I am responsible for the foundation's legal affairs, and it was not given to me either. Why was it not given? We are fighting for the rights of Cumhuriyet newspaper and the Cumhuriyet Foundation. We want the newspaper to be managed by law.

News Source: Mustafa Büyüksipahi