A new development has occurred in the case regarding the arrest of journalist Murat Ağırel. According to a report by Cumhuriyet, Ağırel's lawyer has filed an objection to the arrest warrant and submitted a petition for his release to the court.
At the center of the objection is a photograph in the file, which is alleged to be among the documents Ağırel leaked to the Sarıgül family. The petition points out that the photograph in question was shared with the public by YouTube broadcaster Tamar Tanrıyar on February 6, 2026.
The application argues that Tanrıyar's statements during the broadcast make the accusations directed at Ağırel controversial. The petition states that Tanrıyar claimed to possess documents, evidence, and photographs, and asserts that the fact that the photograph had been published previously shows that the Sarıgül family could have been informed about the matter through other channels.
This situation not only reveals that Çampınar delivered the documents to other individuals as well, but it is also the most concrete evidence that the Sarıgüls were informed about the matter in this manner. Even if the alleged crime of threat occurred, there is no causal link between it and the client.
Cumhuriyet newspaper columnist Murat Ağırel was arrested on October 19 on charges of "aiding a criminal organization" as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into suspects including Erzincan MP Mustafa Sarıgül and his son Emir Sarıgül.
The prosecution had alleged that documents regarding the claims of Sinan Çampınar, who lives in Germany, were transmitted to the Sarıgül family by Ağırel and that this caused the complainants to be threatened. In his statement, Ağırel said that he kept the claims sent to him in the research phase and did not report on the suspicious data he could not verify, as required by his journalistic responsibility, stating that he was being accused over a story he did not write.
News Source: 12punto
