Warrant issued for former CHP deputy Eren Erdem shortly after his release

ISTANBUL

Turkish prosecutors in Istanbul issued a warrant for Eren Erdem, a former lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), only minutes after a court ruled for his release on Jan. 7.

An upper court in Istanbul accepted an appeal by the prosecutors against his release in the case in which Erdem was accused of “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” and “violating the confidentiality of a criminal investigation.”

Erdem was brought to the gendarmerie command in Istanbul’s Silivri district, lawyer Onur Cingil said on his Twitter account in the early hours of Jan. 8.

Erdem was arrested in the capital Ankara after the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant on June 29, 2018. His immediate arrest was requested by prosecutors citing “the risk of his escape from the country.”

The former MP is accused of “publishing illegal wiretapping carried out by FETÖ” when he was the editor-in-chief of now-shuttered Karşı newspaper.

An Istanbul prosecutor on Jan. 7 again repeated his demand that Erdem receive jail time from 8.5 years to 19 years.

Erdem was not nominated again as a deputy candidate by the CHP in the June 24 elections, which was won by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).