CHP reacts sharply to 'espionage' operation: 'Winning an election is a crime, reporting is treason'

The detention procedures initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office under the code name 'Operation 1' have sparked sharp reactions from the CHP. CHP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut made a statement on his social media account regarding the operation launched by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Ekrem İmamoğlu and Merdan Yanardağ on charges of 'espionage'.

WINNING AN ELECTION IS A "CRIME", REPORTING IS "TREASON"

In his post, Burhanettin Bulut stated that Turkey has become a country that has "lost its sense of reality" and criticized the operation launched against Ekrem İmamoğlu and Merdan Yanardağ. Bulut's statement included the following remarks:

"An investigation has been launched against our Presidential Candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu on charges of 'espionage'. Tele 1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ was also detained on the same grounds. On one side, a mayor elected by the votes of the people; on the other, a member of the press performing their journalistic duty... In this country, criticizing and winning an election have become 'crimes', reporting has become 'treason', and thinking has become 'espionage'. We are experiencing the tragedy of a country governed by paranoia instead of facing the facts."

GÜNAYDIN RESPONDS TO THE "ESPIONAGE" DEBATE

Another reaction to the operation came from actor Gökhan Günaydın.

In a post on his social media account, Günaydın stated, "It is unbelievable to create an espionage debate out of all this. Trying to connect these things and believing that the election the AKP lost could only have been achieved through espionage activities is a product of imagination. This direction is not a good one. The nature and timing of the operation are such that we can only say, 'May God protect this country'."

News Source: 12punto