Request for release for journalist Selahattin Günday

On the 22nd day of detention of journalist Selahattin Günday, who was arrested in the investigation into the death of MİT officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu, his lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz submitted a petition for release to the Silivri Criminal Court of Peace.

While 22 days have passed in the detention of journalist Selahattin Günday, who was arrested in the investigation into Kozinoğlu's death, his lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz stated that they requested his detention review and release with a petition submitted to the Silivri Criminal Court of Peace.

Making a statement on his social media account, Ersöz emphasized that the accusations against his client consisted of journalistic activities and were statute-barred; He shared the details of the petition requesting release and submitted to the Silivri Criminal Court of Peace.

Referring to the process regarding the death of explorer Kozinoğlu, Ersöz stated that the statement of the Cihan News Agency reporter dated September 21, 2026, who entered the file, confirmed that Günday was not the person who first identified or photographed Kozinoğlu.

Stating that Selahattin Günday was the journalist who first reported the incident in Doğan News Agency and Hürriyet Newspaper by interviewing Kozinoğlu's lawyer Hüseyin Derin Yarsuvat, Ersöz pointed out that there was no concrete suspicion of escape or obstruction of evidence.

Ersöz said, "In summary, we emphasized the following issues in our petition" and shared the following statements from the petition:

"In terms of the charge against our client, journalist Selahattin GÜNDAY, dated 10 March 2011 - although it was erroneously shown as 12 November 2012 by the prosecution in the arrest referral letter dated 12 September 2026 - the provision of Article 27/3 of Law No. 2937, which came into force in 2014, cannot be retroactively applied in accordance with Article 38 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the Turkish Penal Code,

Even if it is erroneously accepted for a moment that the legal characterization of the Prosecutor's Office is correct, the statute of limitations for the acts subject to the charge have expired as of March 10, 2026,

Issuing a second arrest decision within the scope of TCK Article 220/1, without examining our objection to the first arrest decision and presenting any new evidence regarding any allegation of organizational activity, has the appearance of a "backup/twin arrest",

"The fact that our client was not the first person to identify or photograph the deceased Explorer KOZİNOĞLU was further confirmed by the statement of the then Cihan News Agency Reporter dated 21 September 2026, which entered the file later, the incident was a journalistic activity followed by many journalists, and due to the changing evidence situation, there is no concrete risk of our client escaping or obscuring evidence that would require continued detention within the meaning of CMK Article 100,

Our client is the journalist who interviewed Hüseyin Derin YARSUVAT, the lawyer of the late Kaşif KOZİNOĞLU, in 2011, and was the first to report on his suspicions about the death in Doğan News Agency and Hürriyet Newspaper..."