Mehmet Baransu

Quick Facts

Full Name	Mehmet Baransu
Occupation	Journalist
Date Of Birth	Mar 7, 1977(1977-03-07)
Age	47
Birthplace	Senemoğlu
Country	Turkey
Birth City	Ardahan
Horoscope	Pisces

Mehmet Baransu Biography

Mehmet Baransu is one of the most popular and richest Journalist who was born on March 7, 1977 in Senemoğlu, Ardahan, Turkey. Mehmet Baransu, a Turkish journalist and author from Kurdish descent was born in 1977. He is currently a Taraf correspondent and has previously worked for Aksiyon (1997-192000). He was awarded the 2009 Sedat Simavi Journalism Award. He is well-known for his investigations into the Turkish military. In January 2010, he published documents that revealed “Balyoz”, a plan to execute a coup in Turkey, which was devised by Turkish military officers in 2003. Baransu, in connection to Sledgehammer, delivered a suitcase with evidence of the coup plot, including CDs, tapes and printed documents. Sledgehammer was a plot to attack two mosques in Istanbul and attack a military museum, as well as attack a Turkish aircraft and blame it all on Greece. On Sept. 21, 2012, three hundred and thirty-one of 365 suspects were sentenced. The remaining 34 were acquitted. Three former generals were sentenced on the charges of “attempting overthrowing the government by force”, but their sentences were later reduced to twenty years. In June 2014, Turkey’s Constitutional Court declared that most of the convicted suspects were in violation of their rights and ordered 236 of them to be released immediately. Rest were released later. On November 3, 2014, a new trial was opened. According to reports released in December 2014, and February 2015, some evidence in the case had been fabricated.

Baransu was sentenced on 30 June 2015 to 10 months imprisonment for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdan. He was sentenced to another 11 months and 20 day for criticizing Hakan Fidan (head of the National Intelligence Organization), on February 2, 2016. He was also being tried for allegedly leaked state documents for an article entitled “The Decision to Finish Gulen was Made in 2004”. Baransu was sentenced by the prosecutor to 50 years and six months imprisonment.

In an article in the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, Ahmet Altan, founding editor of Taraf, defended Baransu, writing, “Since when have coup plans been classified as ‘documents related to state security’ and ‘state knowledge that needs to be kept classified?’ I am the person who published the [Sledgehammer] story, the one who decided it needed to be published, the one who didn’t doubt for a moment that Sledgehammer was a coup plot.” Nina Ognianova of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists called for Baransu’s release, saying: “A journalist’s job is to report on developments in the public interest, and it is absurd that a journalist should be prosecuted for obtaining documents which, in any case, were shared with authorities.”

In an article headlined “What lies behind Mehmet Baransu’s arrest?”, Baransu’s colleague Yasemin Çongar noted claims “that Baransu drafted fake documents and committed military espionage.” Çongar asked: “Would a journalist really submit the documents he holds to the state if he made them or thinks they are fake? Would a journalist really submit the documents and evidence to the state and publish these items, if his purpose is to sell these documents and military secrets to other states?” Çongar added that Baransu apparently “was not arrested because of these rumors” but because he was “being accused of acquiring information that should have been kept confidential in the interests of the state and national security under Article 327 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Should we now assume that coup preparations are legal and that they should be kept confidential for national security? Should we argue that journalists should simply ignore the right of the people to be properly informed and stay away from documents and evidence showing illegal activities conducted within the state? Does this not mean giving up on journalism? Does this not mean giving up on Article 3 of the Press Law and Article 28 of the Constitution?” Çongar further stated that “When I read the documents and listened to the CDs that served as the basis of those reports, I concluded that there was actually a coup plan devised in the army in 2003. I still hold this view.”

Turkey’s highest court ruled in 2014 that officers convicted of the “Sledgehammer” plot did not receive a fair trial.

Mehmet Baransu Net Worth

Mehmet Baransu is one of the richest Journalist from Turkey. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Mehmet Baransu 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

It was discovered that both Baransu’s and Esra Baransu’s phones had been tapped by Turkish Gendarmerie under false pretences in 2010. The Gendarmerie obtained warrants to tap phones by falsely representing the IMEI codes numbers of Baransus’ phones as belonging a fictional Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Five military officers were sentenced to five-years imprisonment in 2011 for their actions. A voice recording was posted online by an alleged military official in 2011 saying that Baransu should die to warn others.

Article 19 condemned Baransu’s arrest and demanded his immediate release. Article 19 previously expressed concern over the arrest of journalists from Zaman. These journalists, like Taraf’s, “play an important part in investigating alleged corruption in government and maintaining a diversity in the Turkish press.” The International Press Institute condemned Baransu’s detention. Steven M. Ellis, Director of Advocacy and Communications at IPI, stated that “this case appears to be an attempt to target Mr. Baransu because he published materials in violation of press freedom.” “Given the facts of the case against Mr. Baransu, there seems to be no legitimate basis to detain him while the investigation proceeds. We call on Turkish authorities for immediate release.” Baransu was facing a 52-year sentence “for his 2013 revelations about an “action plan” by Turkey’s National Security Council that targeted the Fethullah Gulen religion movement.”

On March 1, 2015, in the wake of allegations by the ruling party that the “Sledgehammer” documents were forgeries, Baransu was detained in his home in the Kağıthane district of Istanbul. Meanwhile police counter-terrorist teams searched his home for ten or twelve hours (reports differed), and seized some documents. During the months preceding this detention, he had been detained several times by police.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Mehmet Baransu height Not available right now. Mehmet weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Mehmet Baransu Dating?

According to our records, Mehmet Baransu married to Nesibe Baransu (m. 2014), Esra Konur (m. ?–2012). As of December 1, 2023, Mehmet Baransu’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Mehmet Baransu. You may help us to build the dating records for Mehmet Baransu!

Facts & Trivia

Mehmet Ranked on the list of most popular Journalist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Turkey. Mehmet Baransu celebrates birthday on March 7 of every year.