The police statement of journalist Murat Ağırel, who was arrested as part of the investigation into the Sarıgül family, has been revealed. Ağırel denied the accusations directed at him, stating that he could be a witness at most, not a suspect in the case.
In Ağırel's statement, it was emphasized that he does not report allegations brought against him without going through a documentation and verification process, and that he grants the right of reply to the parties involved in the allegations. Ağırel said, "I do not report undocumented, unverified news, and I have not done so. I told the Sarıgüls that I would give them the right of reply. I could only be a witness in this file at most."
At the police station, Ağırel was asked about the statements of Sinan Çampınar and his partner Kai Precat, who are among the complainants in the investigation. In these statements, it was alleged that the materials said to have been forwarded to Ağırel might have been learned by the Sarıgül side and that the information was given to Mustafa Sarıgül.
In his statement, Ağırel explained that the allegations reached him during another investigation he was conducting in Germany. Noting that Sinan Çampınar first spoke about allegations regarding Osman Gökçek and then shared some allegations about Mustafa Sarıgül, Ağırel stated that he told him he would investigate whether they were newsworthy.
“I DO NOT REPORT WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION”
Ağırel stated that most of the materials sent to him consisted of secretly recorded short videos, audio recordings, and screenshots; he said he requested concrete documents regarding money transfers, company establishments, or contracts. Stating that they also evaluated the issue with some journalist colleagues at Cumhuriyet, Ağırel said they decided not to report until payment receipts arrived.
According to his statement, Çampınar stated that he would share other documents if the news was published. Ağırel, on the other hand, said that "conditional journalism" cannot be practiced and that the understanding of publishing first and sharing documents later does not align with his journalistic principles.
Ağırel later explained that two bank receipts were sent to him with the names Emir Sarıgül and Mustafa Sarıgül in the recipient section, and that one of them read 100 million euros and the other 10 million euros. Stating that he reached out to the parties involved to verify the allegations at this stage, Ağırel conveyed that the lawyer for the Sarıgül family said the receipts were not correct, that there was forgery in the documents, and that they presented records regarding this.
Ağırel argued that questioning the parties involved in the allegations is mandatory from a journalistic perspective. "I did not provide any documents, but I reminded him that I had told him before that I would try to verify the documents," said Ağırel, noting that he was detained while the research process was ongoing.
Journalist Ağırel also stated that he does not know Emir Sarıgül and has never had any meetings with him. Not accepting the accusations against him, Ağırel said, "I do not understand how I can be accused of establishing a criminal organization or being a member of this organization with people I have never even stood side-by-side with in my life."
It was stated that after his police statement, Ağırel was referred to the Çağlayan Courthouse, and the accusation of "laundering assets derived from crime" directed at the police station changed at the courthouse. It was reported that Ağırel was referred to the prosecutor's office for arrest on the charge of "aiding an organization of which he is not a member."
News Source: 12punto
