Mustafa Balbay
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Mustafa Ali Balbay (born August 8, 1960) is a journalist, writer and former Turkish MP. As the main political correspondent in Ankara for the left-wing
Kemalist Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. Ne ...
daily newspaper ''
Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...
'', he wrote a regular column called ''Gözlem'' which he took over from the prominent investigative journalist Ugur Mumcu, who was assassinated in 1993. Balbay was arrested on March 5, 2009 as an
Ergenekon Ergenekon is a Turkish term that may refer to: *The Epic of Ergenekon, the founding myth of Turkic and Mongolic peoples * Necabettin Ergenekon (1926-2020), Turkish officer *Ergenekon, Turkish name of Agios Chariton, a village in Cyprus *Ergenekon ...
suspect in the
Odatv case The Ergenekon trials or the Ergenekon conspiracy, were a series of high-profile trials which took place in 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Ergen ...
, and in August 2009 he was sentenced to 34 years and eight months.


Journalistic career

Mustafa Balbay began his journalistic career in 1980 as a student reporter for a local newspaper called ''Gazete İzmir''. The following year, he was hired by the centre-left daily ''
Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...
'' for their İzmir office and later moved to ''
Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...
s office in İzmir as a permanent correspondent. In 1985, he became the chief investigating reporter in İzmir for the same newspaper. In 1989, he moved to their headquarters in Ankara to work as the news director. In 1992, Balbay was appointed ''Cumhuriyet'' news director in Istanbul. In 1993, he was appointed as the main political correspondent in Ankara for the left-wing
Kemalist Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. Ne ...
daily newspaper ''Cumhuriyet''. Later, he gave some lectures for the Faculty of Journalism of
Gazi University Gazi University () is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded in 1926 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk originally as the Gazi Education Institute (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Gazi Eğitim Ens ...
. Additionally,in 2009 he had a political talk show called ''Ankara Rüzgari'' (Winds from Ankara), co-chaired by the journalist
Emin Çölaşan Emin Çölaşan (born 14 March 1942) is a Turkish investigative journalist, whose daily column appeared in the mass-circulation newspaper, Istanbul-based ''Hürriyet'', for 22 years, from 1985 to 2007. Since 2007, he continues his column in ''S ...
, on ''Avrasya TV'' (ART). After his arrest, he continued writing his regular column for ''Cumhuriyet''.


Ergenekon case

Mustafa Balbay is detained as part of the government's investigation into the alleged
Ergenekon Ergenekon is a Turkish term that may refer to: *The Epic of Ergenekon, the founding myth of Turkic and Mongolic peoples * Necabettin Ergenekon (1926-2020), Turkish officer *Ergenekon, Turkish name of Agios Chariton, a village in Cyprus *Ergenekon ...
plot, that authorities claim was aimed at overthrowing the current Turkish government through a military coup. He was initially detained on July 1, 2008, brought to Istanbul, and questioned about his news coverage and his relations with the military and other Ergenekon suspects. Police searched his house and the Ankara office of ''Cumhuriyet'', confiscating computers and documents. He was released four days later. However, Balbay was detained a second time in March 2009 and placed at Silivri F Type Prison in Istanbul pending trial. He was moved to solitary confinement on February 28, 2011. His first trial appearance took place after nine months in detention. On February 25, 2011, the president of the Court, Köksal Şengün, officially opposed his detention, however, the court decided to keep him in detention with majority votes. From October 2012, he shared a cell with the arrested journalist
Tuncay Özkan Ahmet Tuncay Özkan (born 14 August 1966) is a Turkish journalist, writer and politician. He was arrested on September 27, 2008, in relation to the odatv case of the Ergenekon trials, and in August 2013 he was sentenced to aggravated life impri ...
.


Legal charges

* being a member of an armed terrorist organization * attempting to overthrow the government * provoking an armed uprising * unlawfully obtaining, using, and destroying documents concerning government security * disseminating classified information. The evidence against Balbay consisted of documents seized from his property and office, the news stories he produced, wiretapped telephone conversations, and secretly recorded meetings with senior military and government officials. In its indictment, the government claimed that Balbay kept detailed records of his meetings with military and political figures with the intention of provoking a coup against the ruling AKP government.


Defense position

Mustafa Balbay has denied the government’s accusations. In columns written from prison and in court hearings, he has repeatedly said that the seized notes and recorded conversations related to his journalistic activities. Regarding the taped conversations, he said that such discussions were theoretical and constituted no criminal intent. Moreover, he added that notes shown as evidence and allegedly written by him have three different versions in the indictment. He also rejected claims that he has relations within the alleged Ergenekon organization. In a letter he sent to a delegation composed of ''Gazetecilere Özgürlük Platformu'' (Freedom for Journalists Platform), RSF, IFJ, EFJ and IPI he said, "if you try to produce a crime from an archive belonging to a journalist, you can declare everyone as guilty". On August 5, 2009 Balbay was sentenced to 34 years and eight months in prison.
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
, 5 August 2013
Long sentences for Ergenekon suspects, life for ex-army chief
Balbay was released after four years and 277 days of imprisonment in the
Sincan Prison Sincan may refer to: *Sincan, Azerbaijan * Sincan, Ankara Sincan is a municipality and metropolitan district of Ankara Province, Turkey. Its area is 880 km2, and its population is 572,609 (2022). It is a large town 27 km from the city of ...
in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
on December 9, 2013. The Constitutional Court declared his lengthy imprisonment a violation of the law and of his rights as an elected Member of Parliament.


Political career

Despite being imprisoned, Mustafa Balbay was elected a parliamentary deputy on the
Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
(CHP) ticket in
İzmir Province İzmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...
in the June 2011 election. On December 10, 2013, he took the
oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Suc ...
, which is compulsory for deputies before they can begin their duties in the parliament.


Bibliography

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References


External links


Mustafa Balbay
on twitter.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Balbay, Mustafa 1960 births Living people People from Burdur Contemporary Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of İzmir Turkish columnists Cumhuriyet people Prisoners and detainees of Turkey Milliyet people Turkish male writers Ege University alumni People convicted in the Ergenekon trials Turkish prisoners and detainees Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey Journalists imprisoned in Turkey