The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has lodged an indictment against Tele1 TV Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ on charge of “turning Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman into a target.” According to a statement released by the channel, the indictment has indicated that the news report about Yüksel Kocaman referred to him as “the prosecutor of Selahattin Demirtaş” and said, “The moment he got married, he went to the palace in no time flat,” thereby “turning a counterterrorism official into a target.” Commenting on the allegation, Yanardağ has said, “What we do is reporting and we comment on incidents. In the related news report, we also gave background details by sharing previous information. We do not have a special intent, we only do journalism.” The Criminal Peace Judgeship has ruled that Yanardağ shall be released on probation (September 28).
