A trustee was appointed to TELE1
CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, commenting on the trustee appointment of TELE1, said, "We stand with the workers of TELE1. I am calling on the coup plotters who are targeting politics, civil society, the business and arts world, and the media, trying to instill fear in everyone by saying, 'One day, it will be your turn.' If you silence TELE1, you cannot silence this nation. No matter what you do, you cannot prevail over the people."
Accusing Merdan Yanardağ of espionage and appointing a trustee to TELE1 is exactly what this government would do! TELE1 became the target of the March 19 coup plotters because it reported the facts and refuted the slander with truth.
Censoring the media that he cannot control is just…
— Ozgur Ozel (@eczozgurozel) October 24, 2025
The DEM Party also released a statement saying:
“We have never accepted the trampling of society’s right to information and freedom of expression in the past, and we do not accept it today either.”
We condemn in the strongest possible terms the appointment of a trustee to TELE1. We have never accepted the trampling on society's right to information and freedom of expression, and we do not accept it today either.
We call on the government to stop trying to silence the press through the judiciary, which it has instrumentalized.… pic.twitter.com/9qhFvAIgB1
— DEM Party (@DEMGeneralMerkezi) October 24, 2025
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched a new investigation into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). The Office announced that 15 people were detained after it was alleged that the personal data and location information of 4.7 million app users were leaked to a foreign country through the "Istanbul is Yours" app.
“Regarding the detection of the leaking of personal data and location information of 4.7 million application users to two different foreign countries through the application named ‘Istanbul Senin’, the sale of personal data and location information of 3.7 million application users on the ‘dark web’ and the processing of ballot box data of 11 million citizens in the sub-application called ‘İBB Hanem’ within the same application and the leaking of these data outside the program, a total of (15) suspects, consisting of 13 suspects who are managers in the programs and managers and other officials in 6 different companies including the companies affiliated with İBB and whose relations with the aforementioned organization managers are detected and 2 suspects who are understood to have participated in the acts of issuing fake invoices to the companies of the fugitive organization leader Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, were subjected to simultaneous arrest, detention, search and arrest operations as of 06:00 today on the charges of obtaining personal data in accordance with the law, violation of the tax procedure law and being a member of the Ekrem İmamoğlu profit-oriented criminal organization, and all of the suspects were taken into custody.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced an arrest warrant for Merdan Yanardağ. Yanardağ was accused of espionage as part of an investigation conducted by the Terrorist Crimes Investigation Bureau.
As part of the investigation, testimonies will also be taken from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Necati Özkan, who are currently detained in Silivri Prison.
Meanwhile, a police raid was carried out on TELE1. Merdan Yanardağ's office was searched. Gökhan Kayış, host of the channel's program "Sabah Pusulası, " announced the operation live on air.
In a statement by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was alleged that Merdan Yanardağ was involved in espionage activities with Necati Gün, who was arrested in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality investigation.
The statement regarding Necati Gün said, “It has been understood that the purpose of the crime organization was to raise funds for Ekrem İmamoğlu’s presidential candidacy, that Hüseyin Gün, a suspected leader of the criminal organization, and the suspect Necati Özkan collaborated in the 2019 Local Election Campaign in line with this goal of the organization and that they acted in accordance with this goal by leaking confidential information about voters, that they created voter profiles and determined strategies by conducting analysis of electoral districts, that information about voters was shared with foreign intelligence services while carrying out this work and that the action was within the scope of espionage activities, and that the suspect Hüseyin Gün had contact and joint meetings with Ekrem İmamoğlu, another suspect and founder of the criminal organization.”
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