20.02.2025 08:31
The President of TÜSİAD, Orhan Turan, and the Chairman of the High Advisory Council, Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras, have been placed under a travel ban and judicial control as part of an investigation initiated against them. In his statement at the courthouse, Orhan Turan mentioned that he has a monthly income of 1 million lira, stated that he owns a company in the insulation sector, and noted that he conducts significant exports abroad.
The President of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD), Orhan Turan, and the Chairman of the High Advisory Council, Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras, were investigated on charges of 'publicly disseminating misleading information' and 'attempting to influence fair trial' due to their statements made during the association's general assembly on February 13.
ARAS GAVE A STATEMENT FOR 3 HOURS, TURAN FOR 1 HOUR As part of the investigation, suspects Turan and Aras arrived at the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan under police escort to give their statements. Here, suspect Aras provided a statement for approximately 3 hours, while suspect Turan gave a statement for about 1 hour.
TRAVEL BAN IMPOSED After giving their statements at the Prosecutor's Office, the suspects were brought before the duty judge with a request for judicial control measures in the form of a 'travel ban' due to the charge of 'publicly disseminating misleading information.' Following their statements, a travel ban and judicial control decision were issued against Turan and Aras by the court.
STATEMENTS EMERGED In the investigation, the decision document of the duty magistrate revealed the statements of Turan and Aras. Suspect Orhan Turan stated in his testimony that he is a mechanical engineer. Turan, who declared that he has an average monthly income of 1 million lira, mentioned that he owns a company in the insulation sector, conducts intense exports abroad, and will travel abroad in March and April.
Turan said, "We are working on artificial intelligence. We are trying to bring together Turkish entrepreneurs in this field. My address is clear, I am a businessman, and I request the rejection of the judicial control measure of the travel ban."
Suspect Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras stated that he is the chairman of a bank's board of directors. Aras, who declared that he has an average monthly income of 900,000 lira, stated the following in his testimony: "The main theme of my speech is a text on what we need to do for the Turkish economy to advance further. I tried to express the general sensitivity of society by giving examples regarding the necessary measures to be taken in education and the rule of law, women's rights for the development of our country, the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and many economic and financial issues to open up Turkey's future." He added, "I did not provide any misleading information to the public in my speech. All approaches and narratives are in the form of interpreting the effects on the economy. I made these speeches aimed at improving Turkey's investment environment."
Stating that he has frequent travels abroad due to being the chairman of the board of an international bank and that he is trying to contribute to the Turkish economy, Aras requested that the travel ban not be applied to him.
"THEY MADE STATEMENTS ON MATTERS THEY HAD NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT" In the decision document of the duty magistrate, it was stated, "As indicated by the content of the speeches made by the suspects and the defenses they provided, they made statements regarding events they only had knowledge of through the media and did not know the content of, by suggesting and directing the judiciary, and made statements containing false disinformation." The document noted that there is concrete evidence that suspects Turan and Aras committed the crime of 'publicly disseminating misleading information' by spreading false information regarding Turkey's internal and external security, public order, and general health, solely to create concern, fear, or panic among the public.
The decision document stated that the request for a travel ban as a judicial control measure, which the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office wanted to be applied to the suspects, was accepted.