Semra Pelek
An investigation has been opened into the responsible editors of BirGün over a news report on the investigations, detentions and pressure targeting university students who took part in protests. Sefer Selçuk Özbek, responsible editor of the BirGün website, and Gökay Başcan, responsible editor of the print newspaper, have been charged with "insulting the president."
An investigation has also been opened into the executives of the BirGün newspaper over a news report headlined "You cannot intimidate us with punishment and pressure," which described investigations opened against students. Sefer Selçuk Özbek, responsible editor of the BirGün website, and Gökay Başcan, responsible editor of the print newspaper, are being charged with "insulting the president." BirGün is a left-leaning opposition daily.
The investigation was launched over a report published in BirGün on Aug. 24, 2025. The report at the center of the investigation described the investigations launched against university students, scholarship cuts and expulsions from dormitories following the March 19 operations in which Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained. İmamoğlu, a leading opposition figure widely seen as President Erdoğan's main rival, was detained in March in a case that set off nationwide protests. The report featured statements about the pressures students faced at various universities, foremost among them METU — the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. It also contained quotes from statements by the METU Alumni Association and Sol Genç (Left Youth). The expressions cited as grounds for the investigation were found to be direct quotations from these statements.
Sefer Selçuk Özbek and Gökay Başcan gave statements at the Press Crimes Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, accompanied by their lawyer Tolgay Güvercin.
In his statement, Sefer Selçuk Özbek said he served as responsible editor of the BirGün website. Stating that the expressions in the report had not been written by them, Özbek said the statement by Sol Genç had been quoted directly.
Özbek said: "The expressions in the report are not expressions written by us. When the content of the report is examined, it will be seen that the statement from Sol Genç was conveyed directly. Therefore, the expression in question should be assessed within the scope of reporting the news. We carried out our journalistic activity. I do not accept the charge against me."
Gökay Başcan also stated that he did not accept the charge, saying the expressions in the report had been conveyed directly from the text of the statement. Başcan said: "The expression in the content of the report is not an expression written by us. We conveyed directly the statement made by the group called Sol Genç."
Lawyer Tolgay Güvercin, for his part, said it should be investigated on what tip-off the investigation had been launched. Güvercin stated that the expressions made the subject of the accusation were direct quotations within the scope of journalistic activity and that the elements of the offense of "insulting the president" had not been established.
The report at the center of the investigation conveyed that pressure on university students continued after the protests that began following the annulment of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma and his arrest. The report stated that students had been summoned to give statements months later, that investigations had been opened against them, and that they faced various administrative sanctions.
