İstanbul prosecutors have opened an investigation into journalist Bahadır Özgür, a columnist for the pro-opposition Halk TV's website, following a criminal complaint by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
The investigation is based on allegations that Özgür disclosed a "confidential report containing state intelligence information" in a news article published in 2022.
In the article titled "Million-dollar exports from Mersin to ISIS" (Mersin'den IŞİD'e milyon dolarlık ihracat) published in the daily BirGün, Özgür reported that drone parts brought from China were sold to individuals responsible for ISIS drone attacks through foreign trade companies established in Mersin.
The report stated that the founders of these companies obtained Turkish citizenship and were linked to high-ranking ISIS militants in Syria who were later killed in US air strikes.
A report by MASAK and intelligence units, which detailed ISIS-linked names and activities in Turkey, served as the basis for the article. The document included names and activities in Turkey involved in this illegal trade.
The report was submitted to the court upon request as part of the 2015 Ankara bombings trial, after defense lawyers requested information regarding the ISIS members involved in the massacre. The report was included in the case file. The twin suicide bombing was the deadliest carried out by ISIS in Turkey, claiming more than 100 lives and injuring hundreds of others.
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
Bahadır Özgür gave a statement at the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Office Terrorism Crimes Investigation Bureau on Apr 9.
He stated that the information in question was submitted to a public court and that there was no confidentiality order on the file.
Özgür noted that he did not include any information that could be considered a "state secret" in his report, emphasizing that the report itself mentioned that state institutions had also imposed sanctions on the ISIS-linked individuals featured in the news. (HA/VK)
