Turkish prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of up to 16 years for political communications expert Evren Barış Yavuz over a social media post accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s in-laws of selling jet fuel to Israel, the Diken news website reported.
The indictment, drafted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and sent to the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court, accuses Yavuz of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “public insult” and “openly spreading misleading information.”
In early April Yavuz posted a photo on X of Erdoğan’s son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar and his elder brother, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar, at a pro-Palestine rally on January 1, with the caption, “They sold jet fuel.”
Baykar, a prominent defense contractor known for manufacturing the TB2 combat drone, came under scrutiny after allegations spread on social media platforms claiming that Baykar was involved in the sale of jet fuel to Israel.
Yavuz’s social media post came after Turkey announced trade restrictions on Israel on April 9, six months after Israel launched its war on Gaza.
The allegations against Baykar, who was repeatedly accused of receiving preferential treatment from the government, were particularly controversial as they came at a time when anti-Israel sentiment in Turkey was running high after Israel began pounding Gaza in retaliation for an unprecedented attack by the militant group Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, which claimed about 1,200 lives and led to the taking of some 250 hostages.
The Gaza Health Ministry said on Monday that the death toll in the Gaza Strip stood at 36,479.
Following Yavuz’s tweet, for which he was arrested on April 13, Haluk Bayraktar denied the allegations and accused the communications team of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key figure in the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), of orchestrating a smear campaign over the alleged sale of jet fuel by Baykar. Yavuz denied any connection to İmamoğlu or the Istanbul Municipality after his arrest.
The municipality said in a statement on X on April 10 that Bayraktar’s claims were “lies” and “defamation,” adding that a criminal complaint would be filed against him.
📌Haluk Bayraktar isimli kişinin sosyal medya platformu X paylaşımında İBB ve Başkanımız Sayın Ekrem İmamoğlu’na yönelik yalan ve iftiralara yer verildiği görülmüştür.
📌Haluk Bayraktar isimli kullanıcı hakkında, bu asılsız iddialarından dolayı, hem kişisel hem de kurumsal…
— İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (@istanbulbld) April 10, 2024
On April 15, in an unusual defense of Baykar, the Presidency of the Defense Industry (SSB), Turkey’s state-run defense procurement agency, stepped forward to protect the private company, claiming that Baykar had not taken advantage of any government financial incentives, grants or support programs. Critics have seen the move as a sign of how the Turkish state is being hollowed out by Erdoğan-friendly bureaucrats who are dropping any pretense of neutrality to defend a company owned by Erdoğan’s in-laws.
The indictment also accuses the political communications expert of writing a controversial article titled “Why Alevis [a significant religious minority in Turkey] should have their own PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party],” which he denies having written and attributes to Ali Tektaş, who wrote it on a website he was the page editor for in 2013.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.