Ethem Sancak, a staunch supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and member of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK), has sold the Es media group to Erdoğan’s friend from prison Hasan Yeşildağ, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Thursday.
According to the report, new boss of pro-Erdoğan media group Yeşildağ had voluntarily committed a petty crime to be imprisoned with Erdoğan in 1998 and acted as his guard and arranged his meetings in the Pınarhisar Prison for four months.
The media group owned by Sancak includes several media outlets such as the Kanal 24 and 360 television stations and the Star, Akşam and Güneş dailies.
Sancak, known for the lucrative public tenders he has won during the AKP’s time in office, was elected to the party’s MKYK after Erdoğan was named party chairman again in May.
The businessman once expressed his love for Erdoğan, saying, “I fell in love with Erdoğan the first moment I saw him.”