Evrensel Newspaper Sentenced to Pay Compensation for ‘Insulting President’

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Former managing editor of Evrensel newspaper Vural Nasuhbeyoğlu and its former grant holder Arif Koşar, who have been tried on charge of "insulting the president" at the İstanbul 2nd Penal Court of First Instance, have been each sentenced to pay a compensation of 7 thousand Turkish Lira (approx. 1,000 Euro).

As reported by Cansu Pişkin from Evrensel newspaper, Nasuhbeyoğlu and Koşar, who did not attend the hearing held yesterday (September 13), were represented by their attorneys Devrim Avcı and Mustafa Söğütlü.

Attorney Avcı stated that the elements of the crime weren't constituted and submitted the related rulings of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to the court. Attorney Söğütlü demanded that his clients be acquitted within the scope of freedom of expression.

The court has sentenced Nasuhbeyoğlu and Koşar to 1 year and 3 months in prison each on charge of "insulting the president." Taking their "behaviors during the judicial process" into consideration, the court has abated the sentences of Nasuhbeyoğlu and Koşar to 11 months and 20 days and turned it into a compensation of 7 thousand Turkish Lira each.

Attorneys will apply to the Court of Appeals.

CLICK - File to Erdoğan Administration: Freedom to News

Second hearing of "disclosure" case held as well

At the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan, the second hearing of the case filed against the newspaper's chief editor Fatih Polat on charge of "openly disclosing the confidentiality of interpersonal communication" was also held by the same court yesterday.

A court case was filed against Polat on February 22, 2010 for reporting the voice records which allegedly belong to the then Metropolitan Mayor of Ankara Melih Gökçek and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) Constitutional Committee Chair of the time Burhan Kuzu.

In his statement of defense, Polat emphasized that the related news had previously been reported by Akşam newspaper.

The court has ruled that the case file shall be sent to an expert on information technologies so that it can be determined whether any news reports regarding the voice records in question had been published on Evrensel before February 22, 2010.

The next hearing will be held on December 6, 2018. (AS/SD)