Breaking news: Arrest request for İmamoğlu, Yanardağ and Özkan!

An investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was suspended from his post as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor following his arrest as part of a corruption investigation, along with Necati Özkan , Merdan Yanardağ, and Melih Geçek, is ongoing on charges of " espionage ." İmamoğlu, Özkan, and Yanardağ's interrogations at the criminal court of peace have concluded as part of the investigation.

The judge ruled that İmamoğlu, Özkan and Yanardağ be arrested on charges of "political espionage ."

It was learned that Hüseyin Gün, in his request to benefit from effective repentance provisions, gave detailed testimony to the police and prosecutor's office about the criminal organization of which Ekrem İmamoğlu is alleged to be the ringleader and his espionage connections.

Melih Geçek, who gave his statement during the investigation, was sent to the prison where they were held because they were detained for another crime.

REFERRAL LETTER FROM THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

In the referral letter sent by the prosecutor's office to the criminal court of peace with a request for arrest within the scope of the investigation, it was stated that the content of the report by Ü.D.A., directed by the 112 Emergency Call Center, stated that the suspect Hüseyin Gün was engaged in espionage activities in favor of Israel, England and the USA and that he conducted his conversations through encrypted phones in order to comply with privacy.

Ü.D.A., who stated that Gün financed internal unrest in various countries and that he played an active role in financing a person or persons to carry out anti-government propaganda in the elections held in Türkiye, reportedly handed over Gün's digital materials (encrypted phone and handwritten documents) for examination upon being invited to testify, and an investigation was launched.

The article explained that the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) investigation into Gün revealed that although he did not currently have any commercial enterprises, he had made large domestic and international money transfers, that 85 million liras of cash had been withdrawn from his accounts, and that no purchase or sale records were found regarding the use of this amount.

It was stated in the article that, as a result of the examination of the handwritten notebooks and documents, it was seen that the documents thought to belong to the suspect Hüseyin Gün included mentions of matters related to coup attempts and internal unrest that took place in different countries.

The article stated that Gün kept daily notes of the people or institutions he met with throughout Turkey and that he provided information on matters related to Turkey to intelligence officers considered to be operating in favor of the UK or to individuals engaged in political activities in the UK.

In the article, which stated that it was understood that Gün was operating as an intelligence agency employee under the guise of a businessman, it was explained that Gün, the suspected leader of a profit-oriented criminal organization, of which Ekrem İmamoğlu is alleged to be the ringleader, used the communication program called "Wickr", which is a crypto program similar to Bylock and used by different criminal organizations, as a result of investigations from affiliated institutions.

The article included findings regarding the suspects of the investigation, İmamoğlu, Özkan and Yanardağ.

DETERMINATIONS ABOUT THE SUSPECT NECATİ ÖZKAN

It was noted in the article that there was a note in the notes section of the phone belonging to suspect Hüseyin Gün, which read "Wickr Jupiter1881 sehergul1950", and that there was also a different note in the same section with the phrases "Bluestar81 Necati W Handle" in a different note content.

It was stated in the article that the word "handle" in the note was understood to mean username-name in social media terms in open source research, and therefore the phrases "Bluestar81 Necati W Handle" mentioned in the note were understood to be the account with the nickname "Bluestar81" used by a person named Necati, and that the person with the nickname "Bluestar81" was determined to be Necati Özkan.

The article stated that an open-source investigation into the content of the messages between suspects Gün and Özkan revealed that they were conversations conducted over the application known as "Wickr."

The article noted that the conversation included the following points and topics: "digital intelligence gathering, matters to be considered in the work carried out for İmamoğlu, the urgent need to activate 70,000 volunteers, Murat Ongun's cell phone being infected with spyware that could allow remote access listening, and therefore it is very important for Murat not to take his phone to sensitive private campaign meetings with Ekrem Bey."

In the investigations conducted about Ekrem İmamoğlu, it was stated that Hüseyin Gün had accessed the personal information of many citizens through data found in his digital materials and determined to belong to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality database, and that the provision of the said data was indirectly provided by Necati Özkan.

As stated in the statement of suspect Hüseyin Gün, it was stated in the letter that many e-mail addresses and passwords belonging to the municipality, especially "ibb.gov.tr", were transferred to the digital environment, which is described as the underground of the internet world, by the suspect Necati Özkan, upon the suspect's instructions.

CLAIM THAT IMM'S E-MAIL CONTENTS AND DATA WERE SEIZED BY INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

In the article, it was stated that the suspect Gün had accessed the data in the email contents, especially the confidential documents and internal correspondence of the municipality, using the email address and passwords, and that analysis studies were carried out with these data.

The article explained that the analysis part of the work was carried out by Aaron Bar, who is the partner of the suspect Gün, and that this person is the digital projects coordinator of the US intelligence service, therefore the email contents and data belonging to the IMM were seized by the intelligence services and by creating a perception with this data, the election was manipulated in favor of the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu.

The article emphasized that voters' social media posts and private messaging were accessed using software called "PQ," also developed by Aaron Bar and used by intelligence services. It was also emphasized that this was done under the instructions of the suspect İmamoğlu. In a letter sent to the Inspection Board on April 19, 2019, signed by the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, three externally appointed experts and two municipal inspectors were given the authority to access, examine, and copy all data.

It was stated in the article that this matter was carried out specifically for the purpose of providing data to foreign intelligence services during election campaigns, that the analysis processes carried out on the said data were carried out under the guidance of foreign intelligence services, and that access to confidential/private data between individuals was provided during the analysis processes.

The article noted that data obtained from intelligence service members was transferred between Hüseyin Gün, Necati Özkan, and Ekrem İmamoğlu within a hierarchical chain, and that Aaron Bar, Özkan, and Gün, members of the foreign intelligence service, acted jointly to engage in perception management activities in order to remove the "IMM 2019 Data Copying" process, which had been publicly reported in the past, from the agenda.

The article noted that the suspects carried out this work on İmamoğlu's instructions.

"Data was leaked using the same method as the program called 'ISTANBUL IS YOURS'"

The article explained that the agenda regarding the "2019 Data Copying" process was created in accordance with İmamoğlu's permission letter for data copying, that İmamoğlu was also involved in the action in question, that İmamoğlu benefited from the unofficial election propaganda carried out using the personal data of citizens, and that the suspect Gün testified that İmamoğlu had knowledge and involvement in the actions taken.

It was stated in the article that the suspect was referred to as "Mayor" in the content of the crypto program called "Wickr", and that this situation was confirmed by Gün, who made a statement within the scope of effective remorse, and that a similar data leak was also present in the program called "Istanbul Senin" created by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, as detected in a different investigation, and that the data was leaked using the same method.

The article stated, "After the election process, photographs of the suspect named Hüseyin Gün taken in Ekrem İmamoğlu's office were found, and when the existing evidence and the confessor's statement were considered, it was understood that the suspect named Ekrem İmamoğlu obtained the personal information of citizens within the hierarchy by using his existing influence and transferred it to foreign intelligence service members, that he aimed to gain political benefits during the follow-up process, and that this participation was carried out together with individuals named Necati Özkan and Hüseyin Gün."

The article states, "For all these reasons, it has been determined that Ekrem İmamoğlu's profit-oriented criminal organization's aim is not only to raise funds for his presidential candidacy, but also to carry out espionage acts to secure international support. It has been determined that suspects Özkan and İmamoğlu tried to gain an advantage in the 2019 elections by accessing the social media and internal correspondence of a large number of voters, especially the corporate accounts of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). In this context, they acted together with Hüseyin Gün, the leader of Ekrem İmamoğlu's profit-oriented criminal organization, who is arrested for military and political espionage. In particular, with the knowledge and instructions of the suspect İmamoğlu, a person named Necati Özkan transferred data belonging to a large number of municipalities to the internet environment called Ostin. Through the suspect Hüseyin Gün, they carried out analysis and reporting operations in order to stay one step ahead with the support of foreign intelligence services."

The allegation that the suspect Yanardag formed the press for his espionage activities

It was stated in the article that these issues were confirmed by Gün’s statements, that the suspect Gün received support from the intelligence services during the reporting process, and that therefore the suspects were involved in espionage activities in collaboration within a certain hierarchy, and that the suspect Yanardağ, on the other hand, created the press leg of the espionage activities by using the TELE1 channel, of which he is the editor-in-chief, as a tool, with the instructions and guidance of the suspect Gün.

In the article, it was stated that Yanardağ tried to create public perception through publications made as a result of analyses and reports made under the instructions of the suspect Gün, and that in return for these actions, he regularly received financial benefits in exchange for the purpose of complying with confidentiality, and that this issue was confirmed by witness testimony.

The facts indicating the existence of strong suspicion that the suspects committed the crime attributed to them and the reason for their arrest were recorded in the letter.

Ekrem İmamoğlu's statement has been revealed

İmamoğlu, who testified at the prosecutor's office as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Ekrem İmamoğlu, Necati Özkan, Merdan Yanardağ, and Melih Geçek, who were suspended from their positions as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayors after their arrests, for "espionage." He stated that he did not remember knowing the suspect, Hüseyin Gün, and that he could not recall being shown a photograph by his lawyers after the investigation was launched, but he did remember the visit in question, which was included in the investigation.

İmamoğlu stated, "As far as I remember, this visit was a congratulatory visit after I was elected Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2019. However, although I remember the visit, I don't remember the name of the woman in the photograph. I only remember that she was elegantly dressed and had a childlike demeanor. Aside from this anecdote, as I mentioned, I don't know Hüseyin Gün."

"IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD OF A MESSAGING PROGRAM CALLED 'WICKR ME'"

İmamoğlu was asked whether the person mentioned as "Mayor", "President", "Ekrem President" in the digital materials seized from the suspect Hüseyin Gün on the "Wickr Me" program was himself; who and how the content of the conversations and the data mentioned in these contents were obtained; whether he had instructions or knowledge regarding the provision or sharing of these with institutions and organizations; whether "PPTX" files were sent to him or whether he had instructions for the preparation or preparation of these files.

İmamoğlu answered this question as follows:

"This is the first time I've heard of the messaging program called 'Wickr Me' that you asked about. Therefore, I have never been a member of this program before. In the findings you stated, I do not know whether the person referred to in the correspondences written as 'Mr. Mayor, İmamoğlu, President, Mr. President, Ekrem President' in the content of the correspondences between Necati Özkan, whom you claim to be the user name 'BLUESTAR81,' and Hüseyin Gün, whom you claim to be the user name 'JUPITER1881.' However, my guess is that the name Ekrem İmamoğlu may be me, but I have no connection to these correspondences, and I have no knowledge whatsoever regarding the correspondences alleged to have been made in my name in this way. I am not interested in this matter either. I do not know what is meant by the phrase '150,000-person digital army' that you asked about in the correspondences. However, my guess is that it may have referred to the Istanbul volunteers, but as I have stated before, I do not have knowledge of all the correspondence you have read."

İmamoğlu was asked, "In the open source investigations conducted regarding the 'IBB database copying' statement directed at you, were the data in question the same as those specified in the open source investigation report? Was the data shared in any way? If so, did you give the order? In what way, for what reason, and with whom was it shared? What does the data content include?"

Suspicious İmamoğlu responded, "I wrote the document in question (the document regarding the IMM database) to the Inspection Board Presidency, where I took office as IMM Mayor. The purpose of writing the document in question was to ensure the security of all institutional documents belonging to the IMM, and it had no other purpose."

İmamoğlu stated that he had no knowledge of or connection to the message recordings between Özkan and Gün, saying, "I also have no knowledge of the content of the correspondence in which the person referred to as 'President' in the conversation content stated that I would attend a meeting."

İmamoğlu stated that he had no knowledge of the correspondence between Hüseyin Gün and SA, whom he stated was Gün’s adopted mother, and the screenshot of the English texts allegedly sent by Gün to S.A., and the content of the correspondence regarding Gün’s alleged meeting with him. He stated that the photo of SA, Hüseyin Gün, and himself was taken for a congratulatory visit.

"REDUCING MY ELECTION CAMPAIGN TO 15 DAYS IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NORMAL FLOW OF LIFE"

After the statement of suspect Hüseyin Gün was read, İmamoğlu continued his statement as follows:

I have no knowledge of the content of the correspondence between Hüseyin Gün and Necati Özkan. As far as I can tell from the dates and the content of the correspondence you've provided, the alleged contact between Necati Özkan and Hüseyin Gün dates back 15-20 days before the election, according to Hüseyin Gün's statement, "late May, early June." Therefore, considering that I was also experiencing intense election traffic at the time, it is impossible for me to know or be involved in any way regarding the contribution made to my election campaign during this 15-20-day contact, or the alleged contact made by Hüseyin Gün with Aaron Barr, a person I don't know. Therefore, I have nothing to say about the content of the statement in question. I have no interest. Furthermore, I do not recall at this time thanking Gün for his alleged assistance during the campaign after he visited me with the person he referred to as his spiritual mother. I thanked many people for being elected president at the time. If he had offered his support, I would have thanked him as a courtesy.

İmamoğlu stated that the statements made about him by Gün were nothing more than absurd interpretations, saying, "As I stated, it is absolutely illogical that the individual, who I understand met Necati Özkan in early June 2019 and who claimed to have helped me with my election campaign, directed and influenced my entire campaign within 15 days. Because I had run a seven-month election campaign at the time. It is simply not in line with the normal flow of life that my entire campaign period was effectively thrown away and reduced to just 15 days. It is illogical that Aaron Barr, who was identified as a CIA operative and who knew how to read the Quran at the age of six, would give me advice on how to treat conservatives. Therefore, I have nothing to say about the statements in question."

İmamoğlu concluded his statement by saying, "I have no knowledge or connection whatsoever to intelligence agencies or their employees. As I stated above, I do not accept the accusations against me. When I examine the second statement, I think it is an absurd accusation. I believe I am facing a conspiracy theory. It is more realistic that I burned Rome."

GÜN ADMITTED THAT THEY ANALYZED PEOPLE'S PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE

Suspect Gün stated in his statement to the police that he wanted to benefit from effective repentance provisions in matters that were in his favor. Gün stated that he met suspect Merdan Yanardağ through SA, whom he called his "adoptive mother," and that she provided him with financial support. He said, "He is someone I respect in terms of his outlook on life. I know the conditions under which he publishes and strives to practice journalism. He has a financially challenging publishing career. Therefore, because he is a legacy from my mother and because he is a journalist I respect, I would support him a few times a year, in small amounts, such as 2,000-3,000 euros or dollars ."

Gün claimed that this support was purely for moral purposes and that he sometimes gave the money face to face and sometimes through his mother's driver.

A police investigation revealed that Gün's digital materials contained records of 5,697 people, including members of foreign intelligence agencies and high-ranking bureaucrats.

Suspicious Gün stated about the one-time, 393-second phone call he had with Richard Moore, who served as head of the British foreign intelligence agency MI6 from 2020 to 2025, saying, "I knew him from his time as British Ambassador. I don't remember the content of the conversation because so much time has passed. I met him through a retired banker we had in common, David Charters. I later heard from the press that he became head of MI6, but I had no contact with him during that period."

"Our system was equipped to provide data through illegal means."

Gün, who claimed that Aaron Barr, a former CIA employee and a partner in the company, prepared reports to be delivered to Ekrem İmamoğlu, said, "He would prepare the reports himself to be delivered to İmamoğlu. In these reports, Aaron Barr would determine the path İmamoğlu would follow and the issues he would focus on. I would forward the reports he sent to me to Necati Özkan, and he would forward them to Ekrem İmamoğlu."

Turkish transcripts of Gün's English WhatsApp correspondence with Barr were also included in the file.

In the correspondence, Barr was reportedly quoted as saying, "We can measure the audience, trends, perception, key opinion leaders, and ways to influence them. We can break this down to very fine details, even psychometrics. The way to be effective is to build key influence platforms and personalities, or to influence opinion leaders. We can provide this intelligence."

In another message, Barr was found to have said, "We read pages on platforms using social media profiles we create, but we do so much faster than a human could. This is called 'web scraping.' We may use APIs to provide broader access to data in the future, but there may be a privacy risk."

Regarding these correspondences, Gün said, "Our system was equipped to obtain data not only from open source but also from secret, i.e. illegal, means."

Suspect Gün was also asked about his phone contacts

It was determined that the IMM Spokesperson Murat Ongun was also in the phone book of the suspect Gün.

Regarding this matter, Gün explained, "At that time, the report that former intelligence officer Aaron sent me, and which I then forwarded to Necati Özkan, stated that spyware had been installed on Murat Ongun's phone. I passed this information on to Necati. I don't know whether he passed it on to Ongun. I warned against the possibility of data leaks in private meetings attended by Ekrem İmamoğlu."

During the phone examination of suspect Gün, 34 of his contacts, including 14 intelligence officers, bureaucrats, former ambassadors, and high-ranking soldiers, were questioned in the testimony. These included former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Chemi Peres, son of former Israeli President Shimon Peres, former Armenian President Armen Sargsyan, former Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, Fiona Hill, US President Donald Trump’s Deputy Assistant between 2017 and 2019, and Aytaç Ocaklı, who is alleged to have organized the smuggling of former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, a FETO suspect.

Gün, referring to the phone book containing the numbers of former intelligence officers with ties to institutions such as the CIA, MI6, and Mossad, as well as many foreign bureaucrats, said, "It is normal for me to have the numbers of many bureaucrats or businessmen due to my business background."

"If I had known it was a criminal organization, I would definitely not have taken part in such an operation."

In his statement, Gün was asked, "It is understood that the investigation report of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the report prepared by the Financial Crimes Branch Directorate assesses that you are a leader of the İmamoğlu criminal organization. Have you ever been involved in any criminal organization?"

The suspect responded to this question on the following day, saying, "I was absolutely not involved in İmamoğlu's criminal organization or any other organization. I simply forwarded the analysis I had conducted to Necati Özkan, to be conveyed to Ekrem İmamoğlu and used during the election campaign. However, I had absolutely no knowledge that what I had done constituted a crime or that these individuals were a criminal organization. Had I known they were a criminal organization, I would certainly not have participated in such an investigation. I have explained this process above with all sincerity."

The report in question stated that he was the leader of the organization and that the suspects Necati Özkan, Naim Erol Özgüner, Melih Geçek, Emrah Yüksel, Iraz Bayrak, Şehide Zehra Keleş and İsmet Koyun were "members of the organization" affiliated with him.

"İmamoğlu would follow our instructions"

When asked whether he knew these people and whether they had any business relations or contacts, the suspect Gün gave the following answer:

I am not a member of this criminal organization. I have never knowingly or willingly engaged in any activity within the criminal organization. I have known Ekrem İmamoğlu through the media for years. My relationship with this individual stems from my activities with Necati Özkan. I would forward the reports to Özkan, and Özkan would then forward them to Ekrem İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu didn't take action based on every report I made. In other words, because some of my reports were about Ekrem İmamoğlu's behavior and actions, he would implement them. In other words, he would implement our guidance regarding his nervousness or his approach to the conservative community. However, in certain situations, such as addressing the regions' expectations or concerns, Özkan would take the necessary action through the 'Istanbul Volunteers.' The reports we prepared were prepared by Aaron Barr and other members of my technical team.

Gün stated that he didn't conduct any analyses on how İmamoğlu should act or what he should pay attention to, and that these analyses were prepared by the technical team under Barr's management. He said, "The correspondence between rival party supporters was analyzed by Aaron Barr and the technical team. Precautions were taken against any negative news that might emerge. Necati Özkan also knew that this data was being analyzed using confidential, private correspondence. I informed Necati and others in the campaign, and even İmamoğlu, of the risks I was taking in this regard, through Özkan."