Dutch Reporter Acquitted For Taking Photo in Courtroom

Istanbul 61st Assize Court acquitted Dutch journalist Mehmet Ülger for taking photos during the hearing of Füsun Erdoğan in September 2013. Reporting the case as the representative of Journalists Union of Holland, he was facing 6 months of prison. 

The incident took place as Ülger took photos due to the visually blocking law enforcement officials of the defendants in the courtroom

Cell phone worked with difficulty

Immediately after the incident, he was taken to a police station at Istanbul Courthouse for his statement.

On January 7, during his brief trip to Turkey from Holland, he was detained at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport for not having testified. He stood trial yesterday.  His phone, which was confiscated at the time of the incident in September 2013 and kept in the judicial lockers for 1.5 years, was activated with technical challenges. 

"This case shouldn’t have been opened in the first place" 

Efkan Bolaç, Ülger’s attorney, said: “This case shouldn’t have been opened in the first place.” He also criticized the lack of photos in the case file as well as the confiscation of his cell phone for the entire time. He also claimed on the lack of evidence according to Turkish Penal Code Article 286. 

Ülger: I noticed gendarmerie’s human wall on defendants 

“I took the photos but I didn’t do it for a purpose. I just noticed gendarmerie’s human wall on defendants. From where I saw standing, I was unable to see neither the court panel nor the prosecutor nor the defendants. The hearing didn’t even start yet,” he said during the hearing. 

After an expert analysis on the camera of the cellphone, the court acquitted Ülger, ruling that the conditions for a crime weren’t formed yet. His cell phone will be returned with the announcement of detailed verdict. (EÖ)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.