Pro-government TV pundit Cem Küçük detained for ‘spreading disinformation’ and ‘blackmail’

Columnist and television pundit Cem Küçük was detained today in an investigation on allegations of “publicly disseminating misleading information” and “blackmailing,” the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced.

The office did not disclose the specific acts behind the investigation.

Pro-government outlet A Haber reported citing judicial sources that there were complaints against Küçük that he shared social media posts about businesspeople in exchange for financial gain.

Authorities found that his communications with businesspeople and money transfers in his accounts supported the allegations, according to the report.

His comments on a sweeping corruption investigation into the opposition-controlled İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality were also included in the investigation file, the report said.

Küçük is known as a staunch government supporter and a polarizing figure in public debate.

On Jul 27, he left from his positions at the TGRT Haber channel and Türkiye newspaper, both owned by the same media group.

Küçük became the third prominent pro-government journalist to be detained in recent months over alleged offenses unrelated to journalism.

Mehmet Akif Ersoy was detained in December in a drug trafficking investigation over allegations that he lured women journalists into an exploitation network by supplying them with drugs.

Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was detained in May as part of an illegal betting and money laundering investigation. Both have been in pretrial detention.

Political comments

Küçük’s dismissal from his job followed his comments about the removal of Özgür Özel as the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) by a court decision, a development that has stirred Turkey’s political agenda since May. 

Küçük predicted last week that the New (Yeni) Party, formed by Özel following his ouster, would surpass the CHP in the next elections while ciriticizing Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the reinstated former leader:

“Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is destroying himself. Following the absolute nullity ruling, he has lost all credibility among most CHP voters. He will already fail in the first election. His main concern appears to be political revenge.

“Those around him told him, ‘Most lawmakers will not leave,’ but he was wrong about that as well. As the election approaches, most mayors and some of the remaining lawmakers will also join the New Party. Mr. Kemal should be taught at universities as a case study in how to fail in Turkish politics.”

Küçük’s comments came against the backdrop of outrage against Kılıçdaroğlu among the pro-opposition public and political circles, with an overwhelming majority of CHP deputies switching to the New Party to join Özel.

The comments departed from the pro-government narrative about the developments concerning the CHP, prompting criticism of Küçük in pro-government circles.

In response to such criticism, Küçük recalled that he had correctly predicted that most CHP lawmakers would switch to Özel’s party on the contrary of what some pro-government observers predicted:

“You do an analysis, and right away they say you’re switching sides to the CHP or the New Party. They’ve really lost their minds. So what if this happens in the first election—that is, if the newly formed party gets more votes than the CHP? With Mr. Kemal, the CHP probably won’t get that many votes.

“Two months ago, they were saying that 20 to 30 lawmakers would switch to the new party. We said even more would switch. What happened?”

Küçük denied that his comments about the opposition were the reason for his departure though:

“None of what has been written about my departure reflects the truth. I just laugh it off.

“From the day I wrote my first column to this day, I have always spoken what I believed to be true.

“My faith in our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his ideal of a “Great and Strong Turkey” has never wavered.” (VK)