Journalist İdris Yılmaz was questioned by police on allegations of “violating the confidentiality of communications” after reporting on a corruption investigation involving the Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation in the Erciş district of Van province in eastern Turkey. Yılmaz denied the allegations, saying he was unaware of a confidentiality order and that the decision had still not been formally served on him.
MLSA – Journalist İdris Yılmaz was summoned to the Erciş Police Station on Nov. 9, 2026, over an Instagram post he shared on Nov. 6 about an ongoing corruption investigation involving the Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation (SYDV) in Erciş, a district in Turkey's eastern Van province. His post reported that an inspector had been assigned to investigate allegations of irregularities at the foundation and that the investigation was ongoing.
Six people, including the foundation's director, Sefa Kaya, were detained as part of the investigation. Authorities are investigating allegations of bid rigging, bribery and embezzlement. The investigation also covers procurement and payment transactions related to assistance for people in need, including purchases of coal and other heating fuel. According to Yılmaz, those detained remain in police custody. Authorities have not yet issued a detailed official statement about the investigation.
Yılmaz, who has worked as a journalist for local and national news outlets for nearly 20 years, confirmed in his statement to police that he had published the news report. He said he was not required to disclose his sources as part of his journalistic work. Yılmaz explained that he learned about the case after it had been referred to the prosecutor's office. He said neither he nor the media organizations he works with had been notified of any confidentiality order.
Yılmaz also said he did not personally know Mehmet Hanifi Arlı or Emre Dursun, who are listed as suspects in the case, and that he had played no role in directing or influencing posts in which they tagged his Instagram account.
District governor's office calls report "misinformation"
Yılmaz said he received a message from the Erciş District Governor's Office through Instagram after publishing the report. The message described his report as "misinformation" and asked him to remove the post.
"Then give us the accurate information so we can clear up this misinformation," Yılmaz said he replied, adding that he refused to remove the post.
Yılmaz emphasized that although the district governor's office had been able to contact him directly, it had not informed him of any confidentiality order. He also submitted screenshots of his exchanges with the office to the police.
"I fulfilled my duty to inform the public within the rights granted to me by laws protecting freedom of the press and expression. I have no regrets whatsoever," Yılmaz said, rejecting all allegations against him.
