Two journalists jailed pending trial, two placed under house arrest in fund scandal case

A court in Turkey ordered the detention of Mustafa Balcı, an editor at Sözcü, and Şaban Sevinç, editor-in-chief of Bizim TV, pending trial on accusations of publicly disseminating misleading information about the ongoing investment fund crisis. Both were jailed while the case proceeds. Two other journalists, İsmail Saymaz and Murat Ağırel, who appear on Sözcü TV, were placed under house arrest after prosecutors appealed their initial release with travel bans.

Their coverage highlighted alleged connections between AKP spokesman Ömer Çelik and fund suspect Osman Arıkan Nacar, prompting a criminal complaint from Trade Minister Ömer Bolat. The fund scandal has already pressured the ruling Justice and Development Party, with opposition parties questioning whether ministers profited from the troubled funds.