Turkey jails two journalists and places two under house arrest over fund crisis coverage

Turkish courts have detained four journalists over coverage of a major investment fund crisis.

Two, Mustafa Balcı and Şaban Sevinç, were jailed pending trial, while İsmail Saymaz and Murat Ağırel were placed under house arrest.

Authorities accuse them of spreading misleading information through reporting and social media posts that raised questions about links between ruling party figures and people under investigation.

The crisis began in mid-September, when some funds could not repay investors seeking to withdraw their money.

Turkey’s securities regulator ordered 131 funds managed by seven companies to be liquidated, affecting 455,758 investors.

Investigators are examining whether some investors sold their holdings using advance information, and officials have said some people are being asked to return money.

The ruling party has accused the opposition and media of targeting it, while the journalists deny spreading false information.

Parliament has received a bill on liquidating funds and repaying investors, but no vote date was announced.