ANKARA -Stating that the article on which the arrest was made does not cover prosecutors and judges, Nuray Özdoğan, the lawyer of the arrested journalist Fırat Can Arslan said: "The investigation was initiated at the insistence of the members of the judiciary who were allegedly 'victims'.

 

Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Fırat Can Arslan, with the decision of the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) of the member judge of the case, in which he was married to the prosecutor who conducted the investigation of the journalists who were detained in Amed and released at the first hearing held on July 11, after being arrested on June 16, 2022. He was detained in the police raid on his house in Ankara on July 25, after posting in the social media that his place of duty was changed.

 

T24 editor Sibel Yukler, MA reporter Delal Akyüz, bianet editor Evrim Kepenek and journalist Evrim Deniz, who retweeted the post, were detained within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. After the police and courthouse proceedings, Arslan was arrested on charges of 'targeting a public official', while other journalists were released with a judicial control measure.

 

Lawyer Nuray Özdoğan, who followed the proceedings of journalist Arslan at the police station and the courthouse, spoke about Arslan's arrest.

 

'REVENGE'

 

Stating that the journalists for whom an "arrest" warrant was issued on July 24, as part of the investigation, were taken into custody by the police the next day, during a house raid, Özdoğun said: "Article 6 of the TMK was cited as the reason for his detention. The prosecutor who opened the investigation and the prosecutor who was allegedly a 'target' were former colleagues. Of course, this is an extraordinary situation. According to the relevant article, making a raid and arresting someone means intimidation. The prisoners are people who are known to the public and who are known to carry out journalistic activities. The investigation and detention was against the law and was carried out with the motive of 'revenge'.

 

'PROSECUTOR AND JUDGES ARE NOT THE REASON'

 

Stating that Arslan and Yükler, who were in custody, were asked only one question during the police interrogation, Özdoğan said: that the journalists gave their statements in the interrogation that they were sharing as part of their journalism profession. The arrested journalist Fırat Can Arslan shared the HSK decision as it was. There is no one whose identity is hidden here. Judges and prosecutors do not fall under the scope of Article 6 of the TMK. They are not the reason for the arrest.We also said in court; This article is an article brought for the law enforcement assigned under the TMK. It is not an article introduced to protect prosecutors and judges."

 

ARSLAN'S RELEASE WILL BE OBJECTED

 

Stating that they will object to Arslan's arrest, Özdoğan said: "We have doubts about whether we can get a lawful decision in an investigation that is carried out against the law and continues with the 'persistence' of members of the judiciary who obviously think that he is the victim of the incident."

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan