Following our report on the use of paid extras at the CHP’s badge-pinning event, our reporter Ebru Çelik, who broke the story, and our Web Coordinators Uğur Koç and Berkant Gültekin have been summoned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to give statements as part of the ongoing investigation.
Our reporter Ebru Çelik revealed that paid extras were brought in via a casting agency for the CHP membership ceremony. According to the report, hundreds of extras from various casting agencies were brought to the ceremony in exchange for 950 lira.
Following her report—based on participant observation and concrete evidence—Ebru Çelik was targeted by the ‘absolute nullity’ administration.
OUR REPORT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED
A statement from one of the agencies that supplied extras for the ceremony has once again confirmed the accuracy of the report. Ömer İne, the owner of Merss Production, confirmed that he had provided extras for the event, whilst claiming that he had not received any payment from the CHP and that he had carried out the work entirely of his own volition.
In the agency’s statement, signed by İne, it reads: “Absolutely no financial compensation or fee was received from the CHP Headquarters or the CHP Provincial Chairmanship in return for the organisation and technical support provided. Our work was carried out not on the instructions of any institution, authority or provincial chairmanship, but entirely on the basis of friendship and voluntary service. We operate on the principle of working from the heart and with conviction, not on the basis of instructions. We are saddened to observe attempts to portray this support we have given to our friend and colleague as some sort of commercial or political bargain, and we present the truth to you in its simplest form.”
Furthermore, new footage shared from the event venue revealed that extras had been brought in for the ceremony.
AN INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN LAUNCHED
Following a complaint by Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed as a trustee to the CHP Istanbul Provincial Directorate, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation in recent days.
A statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office read: “Following the complaint submitted to our office by the complainant’s legal representative regarding allegations that individuals who were not actually members were brought to the CHP event held in Sarıyer through an agreement with a casting agency, and in relation to the publications made on this matter, an investigation has been launched; once the enquiries are concluded, the statements of the individuals named in the complaint will be taken.”
BİRGÜN STAFF SUMMONED FOR STATEMENTS
Ebru Çelik, who brought the matter to light, and our Web Coordinators Uğur Koç and Berkant Gültekin have been summoned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to give statements as part of the ongoing investigation.
Ebru Çelik, Uğur Koç and Berkant Gültekin will give statements at the Press Offences Prosecutor’s Office tomorrow at 14.00.
BİRGÜN TO FILE A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
Our newspaper, BirGün, is preparing to take legal action regarding the defamatory allegations made in the wake of our news report, which was based on concrete and verified information.
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