‘Boğaziçi’ investigation against Ahmet Şık: ‘It proves that I am right’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Parliamentarians Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against Independent İstanbul MP Ahmet Şık over his statements amid the Boğaziçi University protests. The politician is now facing the charge of "publicly provoking to commit crimes."

On February 1, when several students of Boğaziçi University were detained during their protests against the appointed rector at their campus, Şık went to the courthouse in solidarity with the students.

Making a brief statement there, Şık said, "No one should go after this wandering of 'they leave with election.' In such a system, you cannot struggle against the mafia and a judiciary which has surrendered to the mafia. You struggle with a law where universal legal norms are taken as a reference. Therefore, the election to be held changes nothing."

After Şık uttered these remarks, it was reported on some social media platforms and news websites that "Ahmet Şık called on people to rise up." 

On her social media account, journalist Hilal Kaplan also wrote, "If he was in the United States, he would be in prison. He is now telling the story of 'universal law' here. His interview which acquitted the ones who martyred Prosecutor Kiraz would have sufficed to do it."

'He called on people to take to streets'

Targeted over his remarks, Independent MP and former journalist Ahmet Şık is now facing an investigation.

Releasing a written statement about the issue, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has announced that the Parliamentarians Bureau of the office has launched an investigation against the MP "upon the news reported on some websites and social media platforms that Independent MP Şık, using the Boğaziçi protests as an excuse, made a call of 'this government will not leave with an election, take to the streets'."

Accordingly, he is now facing the charge of "publicly provoking to commit crimes" as per the Article 214 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Şık: It proves how the judiciary functions

Ahmet Şık has spoken to bianet about the investigation:

"In my statement, I said, 'You cannot struggle against the mafia with a judiciary that has surrendered to the mafia. You can struggle with a judiciary that takes universal legal norms as its reference.' That was all I said... This investigation is the very proof of what I said.

"It is a proof of how the judiciary functions and that it has surrendered to the mafia; it is a proof of how right I am. A troll writes something, other trolls get involved... I am not afraid of investigations or arrests. They themselves should be afraid." (RT/SD)