The Republic of Turkey Calls on Global Media to Be Vigilant
Political
Yesterday, global media outlets rapidly spread reports that Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had been arrested by Turkish police as part of an investigation into corruption and ties to terrorism. These reports claimed that the main reason for his arrest was Erdoğan's fear.
In response, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey issued an official statement refuting these claims and clarifying the situation.
According to the statement, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting two investigations. As part of the investigation carried out by the Bureau for Investigating Crimes Related to Terrorism, a detention measure was imposed on seven individuals, including the Mayor of Istanbul.
The suspects in this investigation are accused of committing the crime of assisting a terrorist organization.
On this matter, the Head of the Presidential Communications Directorate, Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Altun, also shared his opinion.
"We are witnessing political and ideological assessments that include slander and false accusations against our President without even reviewing the essence and details of the ongoing investigation.
Attempts to undermine the independence of our judicial authorities, which act on behalf of the Turkish nation, as well as attacks on our President, are ideological smear campaigns. We will continue to protect the rights of our President and oppose such actions.
Once again, we emphasize that any decision made by an independent judiciary must be respected by all segments of society. As the Communications Directorate, we will continue our fight against disinformation.
We call on our citizens to be cautious about unverified and dubious content, to support this fight, and, as always, to trust the statements of official institutions and authorities."
According to the statement, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting two investigations. As part of the investigation carried out by the Bureau for Investigating Crimes Related to Terrorism, a detention measure was imposed on seven individuals, including the Mayor of Istanbul.
The suspects in this investigation are accused of committing the crime of assisting a terrorist organization.
On this matter, the Head of the Presidential Communications Directorate, Prof. Dr. Fahrettin Altun, also shared his opinion.
"We are witnessing political and ideological assessments that include slander and false accusations against our President without even reviewing the essence and details of the ongoing investigation.
Attempts to undermine the independence of our judicial authorities, which act on behalf of the Turkish nation, as well as attacks on our President, are ideological smear campaigns. We will continue to protect the rights of our President and oppose such actions.
Once again, we emphasize that any decision made by an independent judiciary must be respected by all segments of society. As the Communications Directorate, we will continue our fight against disinformation.
We call on our citizens to be cautious about unverified and dubious content, to support this fight, and, as always, to trust the statements of official institutions and authorities."
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