Turkey Jails Journalists Over Investment Fund Crisis

A Turkish court ordered the pre-trial detention of journalists on charges of publishing misleading information related to the involvement of two ministers in a massive crisis concerning investment funds, while deciding to conditionally release other journalists, according to media reports.

The country is witnessing the repercussions of an investment fund scandal that emerged in mid-September, prompting prosecutors to investigate allegations of widespread market manipulation.

So far, the scandal has led to the resignation of a prominent figure from the ruling "Justice and Development" party led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while the opposition "Yeniden Refah" party raised questions on Thursday about whether two ministers had profited through investments in suspicious funds.

Both Minister of Commerce Omer Bolat and Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas denied these accusations, according to Agence France-Presse.

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party Secretary General Ayub Kadir Inan told NTV channel on Friday, "We are facing a network of lies... and a campaign of rumors targeting our government."

He added: "We will never allow our party and our government to be targeted, whether by the Yeniden Refah party or by journalists who were paid to be their mouthpieces."

The four journalists were detained on Friday due to content that also raised questions about the involvement of prominent figures in the "Justice and Development" party.

The court ordered the pre-trial detention of Mustafa Balci, who works for the opposition-leaning newspaper "Sozcu," and Seban Sevenc, editor-in-chief of "Bizim TV," following an image circulated on the X platform hinting at a connection between AKP spokesperson Omar Celik and one of the main suspects in the investment fund case.

However, the court decided to conditionally release two other journalists, Ismail Simaz and Murad Agirel from "Suzcu TV," against whom the Minister of Commerce had filed a complaint on Thursday evening over a news report raising similar questions about him.

Inan said: "Ozgur Ozil and his colleagues will pay the price for these lies and slanders," referring to the leader of the main opposition party "Yeniden Refah Partisi."

He added: "We will hold them legally accountable for all attacks targeting our party."