Eylem Sonbahar
A civil lawsuit seeking 250,000 Turkish lira ($8,000) in damages against journalist Furkan Karabay has been postponed after the court requested the case file from a related criminal trial initiated by Bilal Erdoğan.
The second hearing in the defamation case, filed by Bilal Erdoğan—son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan—over alleged "unjust attacks on personal rights," took place at Istanbul’s 45th Civil Court of First Instance. While Erdoğan's lawyer attended the session, Karabay’s lawyer, Özge Naz Akkaya, requested that the court obtain the criminal case file against her client and consider it as a pending legal matter.
The court accepted this request and ordered the retrieval of the criminal case file from Istanbul’s 47th Criminal Court of First Instance, where Karabay is facing separate charges of "insult" and "slander" based on Erdoğan’s complaint. The next hearing in the civil case has been scheduled for July 8 at 9:40 a.m.
Background
The case stems from a social media post Karabay shared on Nov. 2, 2023, on X (formerly Twitter), referencing allegations made by former Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor İsmail Uçar. In a petition to Turkey’s Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), Uçar claimed that court decisions involving access bans and release orders were being issued in exchange for bribes at the Anadolu Courthouse.
Karabay’s post mentioned figures allegedly connected to these judicial dealings, stating:
"Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor İsmail Uçar said that court decisions blocking access and releasing suspects were being issued for money. The regulars at that courthouse included Mustafa Doğan İnal—who has represented President Erdoğan—Bilal Erdoğan, and Metin Güneş. Judge Sidar Demiroğlu, accused of selling ‘justice’ for money, had also covered up a violent incident linked to İnal and Güneş. Those who are cracking down on journalists exposing corruption in the judiciary—like Tolga Şardan and Dinçer Gökçe—have reached a point where they make even so-called ‘FETÖ-affiliated’ judges and prosecutors seem preferable. Will they take action against these individuals too? In his petition to the HSK on Oct. 6, Uçar stated that Judge Sidar Demiroğlu of Istanbul Anadolu’s 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace was releasing drug traffickers, armed robbers, and illegal gambling barons."
Following this post, Bilal Erdoğan filed a lawsuit against Karabay, claiming it constituted an "unjust attack on personal rights" and seeking 250,000 lira in damages. Additionally, Erdoğan filed a separate criminal complaint for "insult" and "slander," which is currently being heard in Istanbul’s 47th Criminal Court of First Instance.
