Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against Canan Kaya, Medya Koridoru Concessionaire and Editor-in-Chief, on suspicion of “publicly disseminating misleading information” (TCK 217/A) in connection with her YouTube broadcast on February 13, 2023. The investigation against Kaya is based on her interview with journalist Abdullah Aslan, who was working in Adıyaman on the seventh day of the February 6 Maraş earthquakes (April 28).
On May 10, Selman Bacaksız, the prosecutor leading the investigation, issued a decision of non-prosecution against Canan Kaya. Prosecutor Bacaksız stated that Kaya was a journalist and called it ‘freedom of the press’. He said that the crime regulated by Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code can be committed with special intent. He stated that the video did not contain a call for violence or hate speech. He also ruled that there was no sufficient evidence and indication that the action disrupted public peace (May 18).