Six leading Turkish journalists were summoned to give statements to police today in connection with allegations that they spread false information in articles about the opposition Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is in prison, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office said that police had been instructed to take statements from the journalists as part of an investigation into "Imamoglu's criminal organization for profit".
A statement from the prosecutors said that the journalists were questioned "on charges of publicly spreading false information and aiding a criminal organization". It was not immediately clear whether the journalists had been formally charged or whether they would be charged.
Imamoglu and dozens of Istanbul municipality officials were detained in March on corruption charges. The former Istanbul mayor has been in prison since then, awaiting trial on several separate corruption charges. He was convicted in July of insulting and threatening the Istanbul chief prosecutor.
The corruption case is one of several criminal cases against Imamoglu that could see him sentenced to prison and banned from political activity. On October 27, a trial on espionage charges was opened against him.
Imamoglu, who is from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), is seen as a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His arrest led to the biggest protests in Turkey in over a decade.
HKP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut said police had arrived at the journalists' homes early in the morning and confiscated their phones.
"This "de facto detention" is a clear threat aimed at intimidating, silencing and suppressing the entire opposition and the free press," Bulut said. "This systematic pressure on the press in Turkey has now turned into a witch hunt."
The Istanbul prosecutor's office said the journalists summoned for questioning were Soner Yalçın, Şaban Sevinc, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, Ruşen Çakır, Yavuz Oğhan, Batuhan Çolak. They are questioning the legitimacy of the cases against İmamoğlu, which many see as politically motivated. The government says the courts are independent.
In the 2025 Press Freedom Index by the international NGO “Reporters Without Borders”, Turkey ranks 159th out of 180 countries.