The court has ruled that all defendants should remain in custody, and adjourned the case until 29 September 2026

The second hearing in the trial of imprisoned journalist Merdan Yanardağ, who is standing trial alongside the suspended and jailed Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his campaign director Necati Özkan on charges of “political espionage” was held at the 25th Istanbul High Criminal Court. P24 monitored the hearing.

Merdan Yanardağ, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Necati Özkan and their lawyers were present in court.

İmamoğlu left the courtroom at the request of his lawyer, Hasan Fehmi Demir, to attend another hearing.

Lawyer Hasan Fehmi Demir, noting that the composition of the court panel had changed following the summer decree of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors dated 12 June, stated that they would not be filing a motion to challenge the judge on the grounds that they did not believe they could achieve an effective outcome. He stated that the new judge should hear the defendants in person once again.

Yanardağ’s witness heard

Lawyer Demir stated that the witnesses to be heard in the case, Ümit Deniz Alaçam and Berkay Yağlıcı, had submitted a petition stating that they could not give evidence in court on “security” grounds, and requested that the witnesses be heard in person.

Lale Uğuzay, who works as an assistant to journalist Merdan Yanardağ, attended the hearing as a witness.

Uğuzay stated that no one could meet with Yanardağ without her knowledge. She also said that Berkay Yağlıcı, the witness who alleged that Yanardağ had received money, had come to TELE1 with the channel’s donor, Seher Hanım, before the pandemic, but that they had not gone upstairs.

Yanardağ then asked Uğuzay, “Berkay Yağlıcı says he handed me money in two envelopes. Did you witness anything like that?” Uğuzay replied, “We even check the envelopes before we go inside. One can enter Yanardağ’s office through the door of my office. It is impossible for me not to have known about this. In eight years, I have taken a maximum of 10 days’ leave.”

Prosecutor demanded that the imprisonment of the defendants continue

The prosecutor at the hearing stated that they had nothing further to add regarding the witness’ testimony. He requested that the defendants remain in custody, on the grounds that responses to the letters sent to the relevant institutions were still pending and that judicial supervision measures would be insufficient.

Journalist Yanardağ, beginning his defense, started by condemning Turkey’s hosting of the NATO summit, saying, “NATO is a bandit organization. It is the enemy of the world’s peoples. A man who has devoted his entire life to fighting NATO is today being accused of political espionage here.

“The government is using coercive mechanisms to retain power. Unfortunately, it is in the courts that these coercive mechanisms are being employed. There is a parallel structure—an illegal structure—which I believe is directly subservient to the government, comprising, in particular, certain sections of the courts and the public prosecutor’s offices for serious criminal offences. Through this structure, we are facing a coup attempt, an uprising against the republic. It cannot be explained in any other way.”

Recalling that the MASAK (the Financial Crimes Investigation Board) report cited in the indictment also questioned his wife’s brother’s shareholding in a company, Yanardağ said, “The company was established in 2008. We were not married at that time; TELE1 had not yet been established; Mr. İmamoğlu was not even the mayor of Beylikdüzü; and I did not know Hüseyin Gün.

“The prosecution has also taken an interest in the questions we asked Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during a program we produced and has claimed that we were targeting him.

We have come to understand the prosecution’s ‘affection’ for Kılıçdaroğlu through this annulment ruling.”

“We are here as part of the process of political violence created by those in power. I believe, essentially, that Nazi-style law is being applied. A dictatorship’s legal system is being attempted to be constructed through the legal precedents that will be established via these cases. Society is being silenced.

“In the indictment, a message exchange I had with Mr. Hüseyin Gün has been cut in half. Mr. Gün says there, ‘What on earth is the CHP doing? They should make videos, release clips, publish messages, use social media.’ The prosecutors did not include the beginning of the message in the indictment. They included the end and presented it as if it were an instruction given to me by Mr. Hüseyin. In a word, it is shameful. It is shameful for an institution with ‘Republic’ in its name.”

“Signature of the AKP government is on this indictment”

“Be honest, for goodness’ sake! Just say, ‘Mate, we are trying to establish a theocratic, totalitarian, fascist regime by eliminating television channels like TELE1 and the independent media. That is why we carried out this operation.’ Let’s fight it out. You will not do that; instead, you will commit a grave crime by stripping people of their freedom through lies, deceit and ambushes.”

“Confidence in the judiciary has been severely shaken. The belief that the judiciary has become politicized is extremely widespread. Those currently governing Turkey have abolished judicial independence.

“One of the signatories to this indictment is now a deputy minister. The post of deputy minister is a political office. The court needs to take this into account. Can Tuncer, whose signature appears on this indictment, is currently a deputy minister.

“Is the post of deputy minister not at the disposal of the AKP, under the control of this party, and a position appointed by this party? It is. The signature of the AKP government is on this indictment.

“Your court is faced with the opportunity to dispel this lack of confidence in the judiciary. It will either deliver a ruling that upholds the judiciary’s historical maturity, integrity, and character, or it will bow to the pressure of the government.”

Yanardağ concluded his defense by stating that he was “merely demanding the rule of law and justice” from the court.

Yanardağ’s lawyer, Selin Nakipoğlu, took the floor. “Will spying on behalf of a state not named in the case file go down in legal history?” asked Nakipoğlu, adding: “The indictment tells Yanardağ: ‘You are a spy, but we do not know for whom, what or how you spied. The burden of proof is on you.’”

“Three prosecutors have gotten together and written a 162-page indictment, but it means nothing. Open-source information is being treated as if it were a classified document, and Yanardağ’s analytical skills are being portrayed as a crime. There is no place for this in criminal law. The indictment is engaging in political engineering.

“The prosecutors have included Yanardağ’s criminal record in the indictment. They are criminalizing him, telling you, ‘This man is a criminal.’ They are presenting witness statements as conclusive evidence. This indictment clearly violates my client’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press and right to property.”

Nakipoğlu demanded Yanardağ’s immediate release, stating, “There is not a single piece of concrete evidence, not even a single word, that necessitates the continuation of his detention,” and concluded her defense.

Bilgütay Hakkı Durna, one of Yanardağ’s lawyers, took the floor. Stating that it was the court’s responsibility that the witnesses had not yet been heard, he said, “This cannot be a ground for restricting my client’s freedom.” He said that a response to the letter sent to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) was awaited, and that this was one of the grounds for the decision at the previous hearing to extend the detention, adding, “This is a matter for the investigation phase. Why is this being raised now when it was not raised at the time? Is the MİT going to say, ‘Yes, these people are spies’?”

Lawyer Durna concluded his defense by requesting that, alongside his client’s release, the decision appointing an administrator to TELE1 be revoked.

The court ruled that Yanardağ, Özkan and İmamoğlu should remain in custody. The case was adjourned until 29 September 2026.

Background of the case

TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ was arrested on 24 October, 2025, as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. In a statement, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ had been “detained on charges of espionage” and that searches had been conducted at his home and workplace. It was also reported that police from the Counter-Terrorism Unit (TEM) arrived at TELE1’s news center in Seyrantepe, Istanbul, early in the morning to conduct a search.

Later that evening, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance had ruled to appoint the Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) as a receiver for ABC Radio Television and Digital Broadcasting Inc., the owner of the TELE1 channel.

Yanardağ was imprisoned pending trial on 27 October by the criminal court of first instance on charges of “espionage.”

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against Yanardağ, imprisoned Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, İmamoğlu’s advisor and campaign director Necati Özkan, and Hüseyin Gün on charges of “political espionage.” In the indictment dated 4 February 2026, İmamoğlu was designated as the “crime ring leader.” Documents seized from Hüseyin Gün also formed the core of the indictment. The prosecution stated that the investigation began following a tip received by the 112 Emergency Call Center. The person who made the tip alleged that Gün was conducting espionage activities on behalf of Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and that he conducted his communications via encrypted phones. However, the investigation against Seher Alaçam, who was alleged to have given money to Merdan Yanardağ and whom Hüseyin Gün referred to as “mommy”, was closed with a decision of no prosecution due to Alaçam’s death.