A raid on the offices of the opposition television station TELE1 in Turkey was carried out Friday morning by a team of the Anti-Terrorism Service on a court order. The search lasted about an hour, and the station’s general news director, Merdan Yanardag, was arrested.

Journalist Giohan Kayis, host of a morning show on TELE1, broadcast the operation live, informing viewers that police teams had been at the channel since the early hours of the morning. As he said, about 50 members of TEM were involved in the operation.

Kayish said he asked the team leader if Merdan Yanardag had been briefed on the operation and he responded: “You cannot reach him”. The reporter added that, based on this response, he assumed that Yanardag had already been taken into custody.

Shortly afterwards, the prosecutor’s office officially announced that TELE1’s general news director, Merdan Yanardag, had been arrested this morning as part of the operation. According to Hurryiet, the arrested man is accused of spying for the jailed Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, and foreign agencies.

Same sources stress that police are seeking evidence that Imamoglu, together with TELE1’s news director and in cooperation with foreign agencies, attempted to change the facts of the 2019 local elections.

Yanardag’s lawyer, Bilgiutai Haki Durna, speaking to TELE1, said that he has not yet become aware of the case file. “I have only seen the prosecutor’s statement. Unfortunately, in our country, serious accusations are often made without sufficient evidence, and people are deprived of their freedom without foundation. I will go to the police station to access the file,”he said.

Durna also stressed that it is impossible to question Merdan Yanardag’s patriotic identity, and added: “In our country, people are forced to prove that they are not guilty.

They have to prove that they are not guilty.
He concluded by noting that he spoke to the journalist’s family after the investigation was over. “His family, like him, remains calm and dignified. They were prepared for such a possibility because of his job. Morally they are strong and we will go through the legal process together,”he said.