Turkey: Sedef Kabaş And Other Bloomberg Journalists Acquitted Of "Economic Coup" Charge
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: April 27, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The İstanbul court acquits journalist Sedef Kabaş and 38 people from charges of “defying law on the capital market” and “attempting to destabilize the economy”. The court announced the verdict at today's hearing and agreed with the prosecutor’s final opinion as the criminal charges could not be proven against 38 defendants.
The Turkish court concluded the case against 38 people, including journalists Sedef Kabaş and Merdan Yanardağ, Mustafa Sönmez, Bloomberg economy reporters Fercan Yalınkılıç and Kerim Karakaya, where the journalists were accused of attempting an economic coup over a report published at Bloomberg in 2018. The journalists were acquitted from all charges they faced over more than three years.
The report was revealed on August 10, 2018, entitled “Turkish bank crisis prompts emergency meeting on Saturday” by finance reporters Fercan Yalınkılıç and Kerim Karakaya in Bloomberg. The Turkish lira’s depreciation towards the dollar was brought to the agenda with the report. The report stated that after the rise in the dollar, banks did not meet their foreign exchange demands. It was declared that those who demand foreign currency can do so for the next business day, and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), known as BDDK, will hold an urgent meeting with the top executives of the banks at the weekend.
Following the news, the BDDK filed a lawsuit against the reporters who wrote the news and 38 people who shared it from their Twitter accounts. The reporters and other defendants were accused of "undermining the stability of Turkey's economy" in the indictment. Six journalists, including Sedef Kabaş, face two to five years sentences in prison on charges of "violating the Capital Law".
The court announced its verdict today and acquitted all defendants, reasoning that the elements of the offense "market fraud" did not occur.
On April 27, the prosecutor also submitted a final opinion to the court and requested all defendants' acquittal. However, Ayşegül Erbil, the counsel of BDDK, and Merzuke Dağlı, the counsel of the Capital Markets Board (SPK), repeated their accusations and requested the court for additional time for their final states.
Sedef Kabaş’s lawyer Yağızhan Veli also pointed out that the case has been continuing for three years and it should end in a reasonable time under the Constitutional Court's principles. He requested from the court to reject the SPK and BDDK counsel's requests for additional time for their statements.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the court’s decision. Yet the verdict is proof that journalism is not a crime. We demand this decision set a precedent for other prosecutions against journalists.
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.
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