11.04.2025 00:30
The detained journalists Murat Ağırel and Timur Soykan were released with a travel ban and judicial control decision.
Journalists Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel were taken into custody during early morning police raids at their homes based on the complaint of Erkan Kork, the owner of Flash TV and Bank Pozitif, who is currently detained in a money laundering investigation, on charges of "threat" and "blackmail".
THEY WERE SENT WITH A REQUEST FOR ARREST
Ağırel and Soykan were sent to the courthouse after their procedures at the police station were completed. The prosecutor's office sent the two individuals to court with a request for their arrest.
THEY WERE RELEASED
A decision was made regarding Soykan and Ağırel. The two were released with a travel ban and judicial control order.
NOTABLE WORDS IN THE POLICE STATEMENT
In his statement at the police station, Timur Soykan, when asked about Erkan Kork's statements to the prosecutor's office, said, "These statements are completely false. We knew that he was being prosecuted for illegal gambling and that his owned payfix electronic payment company was accused of being used in the transfer of illegal gambling money. The subject of the news was that a person being prosecuted for illegal gambling owned an electronic payment system, a bank, and a TV channel. In every part of the world, it is newsworthy for a suspect of illegal gambling to own an e-payment system, a bank, and a TV channel," he stated.
"I ONLY DID JOURNALISM"
Ağırel, in his statement, said: "I did not try to put pressure on him. If I had tried to put pressure on him, I would not have requested a meeting in a public place and allowed him to record the conversation; rather, I would have insisted on having the meeting in a place I determined and controlled. Timur Soykan has nothing to do with this matter. He is an independent journalist. He does not take orders from anyone about what to do or not to do. I have no actions that could be considered an accusation against Erkan Kork. I only did journalism."