Arrested for publishing fake ID cards of state officials, Twitter user released

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Arrested after sharing fake ID cards containing information of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Chair Hakan Fidan, İbrahim Haskoloğlu was released today (April 27).

Haskoloğlu, a popular Twitter user, spent eight days under arrest for "illegally obtaining and disseminating personal information."

Examining an appeal against the arrest by Haskoloğlu's lawyer, the Ankara 40th Penal Court of First Instance ruled for his release.

What happened?

Haskoloğlu claimed in a tweet on April 12 that the e-government system was hacked and people's ID information was leaked.

Haskoloğlu said a hacker group, whose name he did not share, sent him the photos of ID cards of Erdoğana and Fidan, and shared them in a tweet.

However, it was soon revealed that the images he shared were fake. Haskoloğlu defended his claims, saying that the information in the images of ID cards he had published were true despite the ID cards being fake.

The authorities denied the claim that the e-government system was hacked. The Ministry of Interior filed a complaint against Haskoloğlu.

The İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation against Haskoloğlu for "illegally obtaining personal data."

(HA/VK)