Prosecutor issues arrest warrant for license holder of daily Sözcü

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office on May 27 issued an arrest warrant for the license holder of daily Sözcü as a part of an investigation into some of the daily’s staff over their alleged links to the Fethullahist Terror Organization.

The prosecutor’s office issued the arrest warrant for Burak Akbay who is reported to be abroad on charges of being a member of an armed terror organization.

The move comes one day after an Istanbul court ordered the arrest of two journalists working for the daily.

A criminal court in Istanbul late on May 26 ordered the arrest of two employees of critical daily sözcü on charges of assisting FETO.

The daily’s website manager, Mediha Olgun and its correspondent in İzmir, Gökmen Ulu were held by the court as part of an investigation into the organization’s media links. 

The daily's financial manager Yonca Yücekaleli was released, the records showed. 

The court dropped the charge of "membership to a terrorist organization" against Olgun and Ulu, but upheld the charge of “willfully assisting a terrorist organization” for both, and "facilitating physical assault and assassination against the president" for Ulu. 

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on May 19 issued detention warrants for four of the newspaper’s staff members, including Akbay.

Ulu and Olgun were detained during a police operation in the same day.

Yücekaleli meanwhile arrived at the prosecutor’s office at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse on May 23 and subsequently gave herself in.