Bünyamin Tekin

Two high-ranking police chiefs in Ankara were detained and interrogated on Wednesday for allegedly leaking sensitive information to exiled journalist Cevheri Güven, a vocal critic of the Turkish government whose YouTube videos exposing corruption in Ankara are viewed millions of times.

The investigation targeted Murat Çelik, former deputy police chief of Ankara, and Şevket Demircan, deputy chief of the Organized Crime Unit, both of whom were previously  imprisoned for four months this year over allegations of criminal misconduct in a probe of a mob boss.

Çelik and Demircan were questioned on Wednesday over allegations of providing confidential information to Güven, who resides in Germany.

The police chiefs were reportedly detained as part of a broader inquiry into the actions of another officer, identified as Serkan Dinçer, from the narcotics division. Dinçer was accused of leaking information to Güven. Çelik and Demircan denied all allegations, claiming the accusations were fabricated to derail their careers.

“They spread these rumors to block our promotions,” Çelik and Demircan reportedly said during their statements to investigators. Following their questioning by the prosecutor’s office, both were released without charges.

This recent investigation follows their prior arrest in May 2024 on charges related to aiding the escape of a fugitive witness, Serdar Sertçelik, in the trial of mob boss Ayhan Bora Kaplan. Sertçelik had fled Turkey and later accused law enforcement of coercing him to provide false testimony. Çelik and Demircan were suspended and briefly jailed before being released in September 2024. They had only recently been reinstated to their roles when the latest detentions took place.

The Kaplan case

Ayhan Bora Kaplan, a notorious mob boss with alleged links to former interior minister Süleyman Soylu, was arrested in September 2023 while attempting to flee Turkey. Kaplan was later sentenced to 68 years for leading a criminal organization, intentional injury and deprivation of liberty. The Kaplan case has exposed deep-seated corruption within Turkey’s law enforcement and judiciary, with reports of bribery, political interference and witness intimidation.

The current allegations against Çelik and Demircan center on claims that they leaked sensitive police information to Güven, a journalist living in exile who frequently reports on corruption and power struggles in the Turkish government. Güven, labeled a “terrorist” by Ankara, has dismissed the allegations as baseless.

“I don’t even know the officers named in these accusations,” Güven told Turkish Minute. “This is clearly part of a political feud within the police force, and they’re using my name to settle scores.”

Güven also criticized the broader crackdown on dissent in Turkey, citing a recent court case in which a judge accused a university student of “Googling Cevheri Güven” as if it were a crime. “They’re weaponizing my name for political pressure,” he said.

The probe into alleged leaks has cast a spotlight on ongoing tensions within Turkey’s law enforcement. The detentions of multiple officers have been interpreted by some as part of a political struggle. Far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has characterized the investigations as an attempted coup against the government, labeling the implicated officers as conspirators.

Observers say that Bahçeli’s comments stem from the fact that the convicted mob boss was close to former interior minister Soylu, who in turn had closer ties with Bahçeli than Erdoğan.

Güven previously did stories on how Erdoğan was using the trial against the mob boss to corner his ally to completely submit to his will, in a bid to eliminate the possibility of being blindsided by a possible conspiracy against his grip on power. The MHP reportedly has significant clout in the ranks of the judiciary and law enforcement that might target Erdoğan’s circle in the event of an unlikely feud between the two allies.

The Turkish government frequently frames whistleblowers and critics as threats to national security, often labeling them as affiliates of the Gülen movement, which Ankara accuses of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016. The movement denies any involvement in the coup attempt. Observers note that these narratives are frequently used to justify purges within state institutions and crackdowns on dissent.