Journalist İsmail Arı, who was arrested following a complaint by former RTÜK Chair Ebubekir Şahin, said in a letter to BirGün that his words during questioning had been changed. Arı said he told the judge not to go down in history as the judge who arrested a journalist on Journalists’ Day, but that the record instead stated that he had requested not to be arrested. He said his lawyers Hayati Küçük, Taylan Arı and Ezgi Ergen Sürer had witnessed his words. Arı said that although he had gone to the police voluntarily, he was arrested on suspicion of flight and tampering with evidence. He said a total of 62 people were held in a ward designed for 28 at Sincan Prison, that he slept on the floor and bought a blanket from the canteen for 1,000 TL because no blanket was provided. Arı called for the release of jailed journalists.
1 November 2026
Agos