28.01.2025 08:20
Details of the investigation regarding the arrested manager Ayşe Barım have emerged. It was noted that the players from Barım's company participated in the campaign launched after the forest fires in 2021, and that the purpose of the impact agency to which the company's activities were directed is significant. Meanwhile, an investigation has been initiated against Halit Ergenç and Rıza Kocaoğlu for the crime of 'false testimony'.
Manager Ayşe Barım was arrested as part of an investigation regarding allegations that she directed artists to participate in the Gezi Park protests and was one of the planners of the events, with the details of the investigation revealed in the prosecutor's referral letter. The referral letter emphasized that the subject and purpose of the investigation is not to uncover those who participated in the Gezi Park protests, but to reveal all aspects of the organization that aims to eliminate the current government by directing and using civil society movements and turning them into violence.
BARIM AND ALABORA'S TAPES REVEALED
It was noted that there is a tape conversation indicating that suspect Barım exchanged ideas with Mehmet Ali Alabora, one of the fugitive defendants in the Gezi Park case, regarding whether or not to publish a statement. In the content, Barım stated, "I guess Şebnem called you, when this text came to me at ten-thirty, my blood pressure shot up, and I panicked for you. Please do not publish this." Alabora replied, "Right now, at this moment, I am thinking of such a text," to which Barım responded, "I told our actors not to do such a thing right now, but Sevilay just called me, and Çiğdem Mater sent this to be signed by the directors. Mehmet Ali is aware and has approved this," it was recorded. It was reported that fugitive defendant Mehmet Ali Alabora, who played an active role in the Gezi Park protests, had discussions with suspect Ayşe Barım regarding the publication of a statement, and that this statement would be harmful at this stage, and should be shared if public pressure required more active engagement, and thus would be evaluated in the future.
"IN AN EFFORT TO INCREASE THE MASS PARTICIPATION OF PROTESTS"
The referral letter stated that suspect Barım had phone conversations with Bergüzar Korel seven times, Ceyda Düvenci four times, Dolunay Soysert ten times, Halit Ergenç twelve times, Hümeyra Akbay five times, Mehmet Günsur once, Nehir Erdoğan twice, Selma Ergeç eight times, Nejat İşler twice, and Rıza Kocaoğlu once during the initial period of the Gezi Park events, and that she was actively participating in the protests with artists affiliated with her own company to increase the mass participation of the protests.
IT WAS EMPHASIZED THAT SHE ENGAGED IN INFLUENCE AGENCY
It was determined that the actors of the company belonging to suspect Barım participated simultaneously in the #HelpTurkey campaign launched on social media to portray Turkey as inadequate on the international stage after the forest fires and earthquake disasters in 2021, and that the purpose and intent of the influence agency that the company's activities were directed towards was noteworthy.
IT WAS STATED THAT SHE DIRECTED RECOGNIZED ACTORS TO THE PROTESTS
The referral letter indicated that Barım was directly connected to fugitive defendant Mehmet Ali Alabora and Çiğdem Mater Utku, one of the main perpetrators of the Gezi case, and that she was identified as a person whose will was expressed, consulted, and whose approval was sought. It was noted that she planned, organized, and directed the events, making decisions in this regard, and aimed to increase the recognition and influence of actors known in society by directing them to the protests, and that she was partially successful in this.
IT WAS REPORTED THAT SOME ACTORS GAVE TESTIMONY TO FAVOR BARIM
The document also stated that although some actors claimed in their testimonies as witnesses that they participated in the protests of their own free will, they could not explain the content of their intense communications with the suspect during the period when the protests began in a manner consistent with the ordinary course of life. It was clearly understood that the evasive answers given by the suspect, despite being present with them in Gezi Park during the protests, were made to favor the suspect, especially during a period when the events were being closely followed by the internal and external public and began to gain mass participation.
INVESTIGATION FOR "FALSE WITNESSING" AGAINST HALİT ERGENÇ AND RIZA KOCAOĞLU
The referral letter also noted that an investigation was being conducted for 'false witnessing' against actors Halit Ergenç and Rıza Kocaoğlu, who testified as witnesses, due to their statements claiming they had no contact with Memet Ali Alabora, one of the perpetrators of the events, despite having images of them participating in the protests together.
WHAT IS INFLUENCE AGENCY?
The regulation known as influence agency was brought to public attention with the draft of the 16th article of the "Draft Law on Amendments to the Notary Law and Some Other Laws," which emerged in May last year. However, this regulation was not included in that proposal. The same regulation was later included in a bill presented to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in November under the scope of espionage crimes and had completed discussions in the Justice Commission. However, due to public backlash, the regulation was withdrawn and not legislated.
The bill would have added a new crime under the title "committing crimes against the security or political interests of the state" to Article 339 of the Turkish Penal Code, which regulates the crime of "espionage." The proposal foresaw a prison sentence of three to seven years for those who commit crimes in line with the strategic interests or instructions of a foreign state or organization, provided that they are not within the scope of the "crime of espionage." The proposal also opened the way for double punishment with the expression, "The perpetrator shall be sentenced separately for both this crime and the related crime he committed." If the crime endangered the state during wartime or preparations for war, the penalty could be increased to eight to twelve years. Prosecution for this crime would be subject to the permission of the Ministry of Justice.