Well-known TV journalist Mehmet Akif Ersoy is facing allegations of systematic harassment of women colleagues following his arrest earlier this month in connection with a drug-related investigation.
Ersoy, 40, was detained on Dec 9 along with seven other suspects. He was formally arrested two days later after he tested positive for narcotics. Shortly after his detention, the broadcaster Habertürk dismissed him from his post as editor-in-chief.
Ersoy faces broader accusations that he organized drug-fueled parties involving employees at the channel. A pseudonymous X account named “Habertürk Emekçileri,” (Habertürk Workers) which appeared in October, claimed that women staff were pressured to attend these gatherings to advance in their position at the company.
Ersoy is facing charges of “establishing a criminal organization for the purpose of material benefit” in addition to drug-related charges.
‘A man using the power of his position’
One of the most detailed accusations came from Nur Köşker, a former Habertürk news anchor, who came forward after Ersoy’s arrest. Köşker said on social media that she resigned from the channel due to ongoing harassment by Ersoy, which she said began just months after she started working at the broadcaster.
Köşker detailed her experience in an interview published today in the pro-government daily Sabah. “This is the story of a man using the power of his position to turn a woman’s profession into a bargaining tool,” Köşker was quoted as saying in the interview.
She described receiving disturbing messages from Ersoy and taking measures to avoid him at work, such as arriving early to the studio or waiting until he left the control room before entering. As Ersoy gained more authority, she said, the pressure intensified.
“On the day I resigned, he called me into his office and threatened me directly. He said that unless I became part of the system he had created—known for drug and sex parties—I wouldn’t appear on screen again. He told me, ‘Forget the screen, you can sit at the desk and write news if you want.’ I rejected that bargain and walked away,” Köşker said.
Following her resignation, Köşker said she experienced financial hardship, homelessness, and severe health problems, including anxiety attacks that made it difficult for her to work. She eventually left Turkey.
‘I stayed silent out of fear’
She said she began speaking about her experience to her circle after the allegations appeated in the posts shard by the Habertürk Emekçileri account.
She could only find courage to speak out after Ersoy’s arrest, Kökşer said. “That was when I started receiving threats, even though we were no longer working at the same place. I got scared. Silence wasn’t a choice — it was a survival instinct.
“People ask why I stayed silent. I was up against a man protected by the system, and I had no political or institutional backing. What could I have done with the evidence I had? What would have changed?”
Köşker added that she has evidence, including WhatsApp messages, which she plans to submit to prosecutors from the United States.
Köşker also claimed that another female anchor who reported Ersoy’s conduct to then-CEO Kenan Tekdağ was dismissed from the channel without notice, while Ersoy remained in his position. “Tekdağ knew everything Ersoy had done,” she said. (VK)
Source: BIANET
