Odatv Editor-in-Chief Barış Pehlivan Arrested

* Photo: Murat Kaya - İstanbul/AA

Click to read the article in Turkish (1) (2)

Odatv Editor-in-Chief Barış Pehlivan has been arrested as part of the investigation launched into a news report about the funeral of a National Intelligence Organization (MİT) officer who lost his life in Libya.

After his deposition at the prosecutor's office today (March 6), Public Prosecutor Yakup Ali Kahveci referred Pehlivan to the İstanbul 8th Judgeship of Peace with a request for his arrest. The court has ruled that Barış Pehlivan shall be arrested. Hearing the verdict of the court, Pehlivan said, "I will write about this unlawfulness of yours, too. Don't doubt it."

While Odatv News Director Barış Terkoğlu and reporter Hülya Kılınç were arrested as part of the same investigation on March 4, an access block has also been imposed on the website as of yesterday evening.

CLICK - Access Block on Odatv News Website

Speaking in front of the courthouse earlier today, Barış Pehlivan said:

"Barış Terkoğlu and I were arrested in Silivri Prison for 19 months. We overcame those walls, got out of there and have kept on doing journalism. Odatv was not shut down while we were experiencing all these in 2011's Turkey. The FETÖ* did not shut down Odatv.

"I am now the Editor-in-Chief of Odatv, which the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) has closed allegedly as an administrative measure and permanently and which cannot reach its readers.

"I will most likely be the defendant of the case where Barış is also a suspect. The same procedure applied to me could have also been followed in the case of Barış Terkoğlu. The police might not have gone to his house at four in the morning, like the Gülenists did."

Ağırel released on probation

* Photo: Yeniçağ

Murat Ağırel, a columnist for daily Yeni Çağ, was also summoned to depose at the prosecutor's office today.

Sharing a brief message on Twitter, Ağırel said, "The Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor called. I will go to depose as a suspect at 2.30 p.m."

After deposing at the prosecutor's office, Ağırel was referred to court with a request for his arrest. Ağırel has been released on probation. While an international travel ban has been imposed on the columnist, he will also give signatures at the police department two days a week.

Objection against Terkoğlu's arrest

In a statement on Twitter, Hüseyin Ersöz, the attorney of Barış Terkoğlu, has announced that they objected to his arrest: "We have just raised our objection agaşnst the verdict of arrest for Odatv News Director Barış Terkoğlu. The İstanbul 5th Penal Judgeship of Peace will conclude this objection. We expect that the decision will be given in a few days."

What happened?

Odatv news director Barış Terkoğlu and reporter Hülya Kılınç were arrested on March 4 over a news report about the burial of a National Intelligence Organization (MİT) official who was killed in Libya.

The news report on the burial of the official in Akhisar, Manisa was published on Odatv news website on March 3. Odatv editor-in-chief Barış Pehlivan has also been summoned to depose today (March 6).

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) has announced that access to Odatv news website has been blocked from Turkey as of yesterday evening (March 5). (HA/EKN/SD)

* Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which is held accountable for the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.