Turkey: Journalist Hazal Ocak Is Acquitted From Charges Of “Insulting State Officials”
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: October 27, 2020Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The second hearing of the case against Hazal Ocak concerning her news piece “Son-in-law knows his way” was held today at Istanbul Second Criminal Court of First Instance.
A claim for damages was filed against her over her article “son-in-law knows his way” published in Cumhuriyet Daily on March 6, 2020. The article was about President Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Minister of Finance and Treasury Berat Albayrak and the purchase of land he made on the route of the “Kanal Istanbul” project. She was accused of “publicly insulting a public officer due to the performance of his public duty through an audio, text or visual message”. She was requested to be sentenced to, from one year two months to two years four months of imprisonment.
Hazal has been targeted with various defamation lawsuits for the past two years, mainly due to her reporting on corruption issues. She was sued for one million Turkish Lira in non-pecuniary damages for her story concerning constructions made at the historical Hüseyin Avni Pasha Grove. Reports showed that a ban on zoning was lifted after the mansion was purchased by Mehmet. The pro-government businessman Mehmet Cengiz then sued the journalist claiming that the news story tarnished his reputation.
Additionally, another lawsuit was filed against Hazal Ocak with a claim of 20 thousand TL for non-pecuniary damages due to her article in Cumhuriyet Newspaper titled "Tender game in Şahinbey", which revealed the corruption in Şahinbey Municipality. The first hearing was to be held last week. However, the hearing, in which the parties did not participate with an excuse, was postponed to 25 November.
During today’s hearing, Hazal gave her defense statement and said: “I reported the information I received from the Ministry, later confirmed by Berat Albayrak's lawyer as well. My story is within the limits of my duty as a journalist to inform the public and freedom of expression." The prosecutor upon listening to Hazal’s defense who stated her newspiece was critical of Berat Albayrak but was in no way in an insulting nature gave his opinion to acquit her of the charges.
Press in Arrest who monitored the hearing at the court reported that the prosecutor highlighted that the freedom of press is an integral part of democracy and rule of law and remarked, "In a system where journalism cannot be exercised freely and events cannot be reported and discussed via the media, individuals cannot access information and enjoy the freedom to express their thoughts and opinions."
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes this decision and especially the remarks by the prosecutor which should be used as a precedent in similar cases. Defamation lawsuits are used as a way to intimidate journalists who especially work on covering stories about abuse of power and corruption. These cases are initiated by the state with claims of “defamation of judicial organs” or by businessmen and people with strong public presence alleging the work of the journalist harmed their reputation. We urge the judiciary to stand for fundamental freedoms and rights of journalists and ensure that critics are not intimidated into silence by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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