İstanbul - Trial where journalist Canan Kaya and five other company officials are accused of “tarnishing the reputation” of Demirören Media Conglomerate due to a news report titled “Female staffer forced to resign for having her shoes on the executive floor,” resumed today at Bakırköy 6th Civil Court of First Instance. Besides Medya Koridoru news website Editor-in-Chief Canan Kaya, İleri Haber, Tele 1, Aykırı Haber and Ajanspress; Zeynep Tüzer who was dismissed from her job as a private security guard at Demirören Media is among those sued by the company.Lawyer of İleri Haber news website, defendant Tüzer and her lawyer attended the hearing where journalist Kaya, whom the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) defends, was also present.The court requested the delivery of the case before İstanbul 24th Labor Court, and adjourned the hearing for the completion of the missing documents, until April 1.
Case background
The lawsuit based on the May 16, 2020-dated news report published on medyakoridoru.com titled “Scandal in Demirören Media! Female staffer forced to resign for having her shoes on the executive floor!” was filed by Demirören Media Conglomerate, against Medya Koridoru, İleri Haber, Tele 1, Aykırı Haber and Ajanspress claiming that the report “tarnishes the commercial reputation of the company.” During the first hearing held in November, it was noted that Demirören Media had waived its complaint against Ajanspress and aykırı.com.tr Editor-in-Chief Batuhan Çolak.Claiming that the company’s personal rights were violated, Demirören Media had filed a lawsuit for damages against five news websites which had reported on the dismissal of Zeynep Tüzer from her job as a private security guard on May 9, 2020.Besides the above-mentioned news outlets that reported on the incident, Zeynep Tüzer herself is also among those sued. Demirören Media demands 50 thousand liras from each news outlet, and 25 thousand liras from Tüzer, for immaterial damages.
Medya ve Hukuk Çalışmaları Derneği (MLSA) haber alma hakkı, ifade özgürlüğü ve basın özgürlüğü alanlarında faaliyet yürüten bir sivil toplum kuruluşudur. Derneğimiz başta gazeteciler olmak üzere mesleki faaliyetleri sebebiyle yargılanan kişilere hukuki destek vermektedir.
