We are bidding farewell to 2023 and welcoming 2024.

A bad year is behind us, and unfortunately, a worse one is coming.

I am not pessimistic, just like every citizen, I see the darkness approaching step by step.

Countries around the world are in a race together with developing technology. Every day, innovations are introduced to humanity. Unfortunately, in our country, the endless regressive mindset, empowered by the ruling government, is doing everything to drag our heavenly homeland into darkness and mire, unlike other countries in the world.

I say 'empowered by the government,' and I say it deliberately. Because the president has visited the leaders of sects and communities in their lodges many times. Just last week, the minister of national education said in the Gazi Assembly, 'What you call sects and communities, we call civil society organizations...' State institutions are blatantly being handed over to these structures, just as before the FETÖ coup attempt on July 15. Their growth is again being overlooked.

HÜDA PAR General Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu stated, 'Management models such as states, autonomy, and federation, with their positives and negatives, should be freely discussed.'

Those who roar like lions against anyone who utters even 1% of these words, claiming to be 'sharp nationalists,' did not make a sound, could not. These are words from their alliance partners!

None of these are isolated incidents. They are all initiatives aimed at a targeted goal.

I am sure you will say, 'This is a rule-of-law state, such things can't happen,' but what's happening in the Ministry of Justice and affiliated courts is mind-boggling!

Factionalism, sects, favoritism based on hometowns, you name it...

Yesterday, young and successful journalist Furkan Karabay from the Gerçek Gündem news website was detained and then arrested by the court for a news report he made. At the police and the prosecutor's office, Furkan was only asked about the news report he made and the social media sharing related to it.

However, Furkan Karabay's news report was merely a court transcript of a public case. How can writing about the information contained in the transcript, which is on the official record and not subject to any confidentiality order, be a crime?

What does the court transcript contain?

Barış Saral, who is on trial in a heavy penal court case involving clashes between the Şahinler and Sarallar groups that started 6 years ago and is being heard in the 10th Istanbul Heavy Penal Court, where Sedat Şahin was released, made allegations about a court president working in the Istanbul Courthouse. Note that it's not Furkan Karabay who is making these allegations.

The strange part is that Barış Saral's defense in the trial was recorded on camera and this recording was also published on social media. Karabay obtained the trial transcript related to these images from open sources and reported the details.

The headline of the news is: "Bribery fight in mafia trial recorded in transcripts..."

Sedat Şahin was released on July 20, 2022. The news content includes allegations regarding Sedat Şahin's release.

The article describes the release process and states that Sedat Şahin's lawyers appealed against his detention for crimes such as "unlawfully possessing or transferring dangerous substances," "armed robbery by blocking a road with more than one person," and "intentional homicide."

An appeal was made on July 12, 2023, which was rejected by the court panel. There were seven days to appeal the rejection decision. A day before the judicial vacation starting on July 20, Şahin's lawyers appealed against the continuation of detention. During this process, the president and members of the 10th Istanbul Heavy Penal Court went on leave for a judicial vacation. Another judge was appointed as the court president of the 10th Istanbul Heavy Penal Court to evaluate the appeal. This judge, who had no prior involvement with the file, accepted the appeal and released Şahin the same day, who had numerous weapons, including a grenade launcher, found at his home.

The article also mentions a coincidence. Shortly after this release, the judge who made the release decision was appointed to the Presidency of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice and then to the membership of the Supreme Court on July 25.

Barış Saral, speaking at the trial, claims that the judge did not go on leave before the judicial vacation, but was sent on leave to prevent him from rejecting Sedat Şahin's release, and alleges that the justice commission president and the Istanbul chief public prosecutor are behind this release.

Furkan reported this.

The same prosecutor's name appears in a petition given to the HSK by Anadolu Chief Prosecutor İsmail Uçar. The same prosecutor's name again appears in another petition given to the HSK by another prosecutor, and also in the case of an Iraqi accused of money laundering.

Is it the duty of the judiciary to investigate so many allegations? Or is it to arrest journalists who write these allegations upon complaints from the same people?

Lucky for Furkan, he did not sell his profession, his pen, for gangs, mafia, drug traffickers, money launderers. Journalism is not a crime, and we will continue to write.

Happy New Year!