On Thursday (11 December), four people, including the well-known television journalist and media executive Mehmet Akif Ersoy, were arrested. Ersoy, arrested on allegations of drug use and prostitution, had previously served as editor-in-chief of Habertürk TV, a broadcaster regarded as a pro-government outlet. Ersoy called his arrest a “political operation”, which some politicians and journalists say may well be the case.

Prominent journalist and former Habertürk TV editor-in-chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy has been arrested as part of an ongoing drug investigation in Istanbul. Ersoy was among eight people detained on 9 December and was remanded in custody by a criminal court along with three others after prosecutors cited allegations of drug use and engaging in prostitution. 

In his initial statement, Ersoy denied the allegations, describing his arrest as a “political operation” and accusing authorities of using the investigation for political purposes. 

According to multiple reports, Ersoy’s drug test from the Forensic Medicine Institution registered positive for cocaine. Alongside him, several other suspects — including broadcaster Ela Rumeysa Cebeci, who was previously detained and later released under court supervision in connection with the investigation — also tested positive for various substances, including cocaine and marijuana. 

The arrest came as a surprise to many, as Ersoy was widely regarded as a pro-government journalist and commentator who was seen as unlikely to face detention. The decision also drew attention because, despite Turkey’s strict drug enforcement policies, first-time offenders accused of personal use are often released under court supervision rather than being remanded in custody.

While arrests of journalists are common in Turkey, Opposition MP Ahmet Şık and Medyascope editor-in-chief Ruşen Çakır have described the case as part of a broader power struggle within media figures aligned with the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP).

In a video commentary titled “Habertürk’s curse”, Ruşen Çakır, editor-in-chief of the independent news site Medyascope, examines the arrest of former Habertürk TV editor-in-chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy, placing it within Turkey’s wider media and political landscape.

Çakır explains that Habertürk is one of Turkey’s most recognisable news brands, founded in the late 1990s and later absorbed into a large media........

© Medyascope