29.01.2025 12:23
Journalist Barış Pehlivan was taken into custody following the release of a phone conversation he had with the expert who came to the forefront due to the claims made by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) President Ekrem İmamoğlu. It has been reported that Pehlivan emphasized in his statement, presented today at the courthouse, that he did not record the conversation in question. Additionally, Halk TV issued a written statement regarding the recording.
The journalist Barış Pehlivan and Halk TV presenter Seda Selek, who were detained as part of an investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for the crimes of "attempting to influence an expert witness" and "listening to and recording conversations between individuals," have been referred to the courthouse.
The investigation, which was launched after the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office determined that "the phone conversation with the expert witness was recorded and published without permission, and that the expert's name was disclosed in a way that would target them, with statements aimed at influencing the course of the trial," is ongoing.
REFERRED TO THE COURTHOUSE
As part of the investigation, the procedures for Pehlivan and Selek, who were detained on the grounds of participating in the aforementioned actions, have been completed at the police station. After a health check, Pehlivan and Selek were referred to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan.
While the full text of Barış Pehlivan's statement has emerged, it has been learned that the experienced journalist emphasized that he did not record, share, or publish the audio recording. Pehlivan stated that he called the expert witness to ask about the allegations made by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
"I WANTED TO ASK HIM THE ALLEGATIONS PERSONALLY"
According to the news by Fahrettin Öztürk from Cumhuriyet, Pehlivan used the following statements: "On January 27, 2025, I was invited as a journalist to the press conference held at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's building in Saraçhane. At that press conference, Ekrem İmamoğlu drew attention to an expert witness involved in investigations and cases concerning CHP municipalities. I learned about the subject of the press conference there, and İmamoğlu claimed that there were illegalities in the reports signed by this expert witness.
After following the press conference, I started to think, 'Can I reach this expert witness or can I make a special news report?' Subsequently, I reached the expert's mobile phone and called, introducing myself and stating that I was a journalist. I wanted to ask the allegations about him directly to Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was being watched by millions during the press conference.
"I DID NOT RECORD THE CONVERSATION, I DID NOT SHARE WITH ANYONE"
My main goal was to host him on Halk TV or to conduct a face-to-face interview. After all, the Mayor of Istanbul, where 16 million people live, had made striking allegations about an expert witness by naming them. I called him to find out whether these allegations were true or not. What I did is a use of the right to respond in both Turkish and global literature.
I did not record the conversation. I did not share it with anyone. I did not publish it. And I did not disseminate it anywhere. In this case, it is impossible for me to commit the crimes of unlawfully disclosing data obtained by recording private conversations between individuals and attempting to influence an expert witness.
Because the only thing I did regarding the matter that is the subject of this investigation was to ask a question as a journalist to the person at the center of the allegations. I have no involvement or responsibility in any other action. Moreover, rather than attempting to influence the expert witness, I gave the targeted individual the right to express themselves."
STATEMENT FROM HALK TV
On the other hand, Halk TV made the following statement regarding the audio recording that was cited as the reason for the detentions: "The person who recorded this conversation is not Barış Pehlivan. It is Halk TV Program Coordinator Kürşad Oğuz, who was with him at the time. He recorded the source's statements with a journalistic reflex.
This was not a planned recording. When the news source was called, and it was understood that the person being called was the correct name, a recording was initiated as a journalistic reflex. Immediately after the conversation, the statements were broadcast again as a journalistic reflex. The decision to publish was made by the General Broadcast Director Suat Toktaş.
A publication was made within the framework of the right to respond, driven by journalistic motives. The news was not distorted. The source's words were not cut or edited; they were conveyed as they were. The person whose name was mentioned repeatedly in the live broadcasts of many television channels is now news themselves, and there is news value. Indeed, the fact that the broadcast of Halk TV was taken and used by other media outlets is evidence of this.
Yeni Şafak Newspaper must have seen news value as well, as they spoke with the same person and included his statements in the printed newspaper the next day. In an unlawful environment where investigations are opened even for statements made live that violate the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court, we are aware that we are not discussing law. If there is to be an inquiry, it should not be a journalistic activity conducted within the framework of the right to respond, but rather the investigations opened against Halk TV and its programmers should be questioned."