Deniz Tekin
Naci Sapan, a columnist and the publishing coordinator of Tigris Haber, has been fined 9,440 Turkish lira (approximately $290) for “insulting public officials working as a board” in a column titled “Kayyums, little kayyums!”, which addressed allegations of corruption during a state-appointed administration in southeastern Turkey.
The ruling was handed down by the 14th Criminal Court of First Instance in Diyarbakır, a majority-Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey. The trial’s third hearing was attended by Sapan, his lawyer Sertaç Eke, and the lawyer for the complainant, Şefik Çelik. Felat Bozarslan, chair of the Southeastern Journalists Association (GGC), also observed the hearing.
The prosecutor reiterated the final opinion previously submitted to the court, demanding that Sapan be punished under charges of insulting public officials due to their duties.
In his defense statement, Sapan said: “I performed my journalistic duty in the public interest. I had no intention to insult or slander. Receiving a sentence for doing such a duty is an honor for me.” His lawyer argued that the publication of corruption claims that harm the public interest falls within the scope of freedom of expression.
Following the defense statements, the judge ruled that Sapan had committed the offense of “insult” and sentenced him to 472 days of judicial fine, converting the punishment to a monetary penalty of 9,440 lira. The court also decided to defer the announcement of the verdict, meaning it will not be enforced unless Sapan commits another offense within a specified period.
Background: Allegations of corruption during state-appointed rule
The charges stem from a column Sapan published on March 29, 2023, during the period when the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality was governed by a kayyum—a government-appointed trustee who replaced the elected mayor, a controversial practice frequently used by the Turkish government in Kurdish-majority municipalities. In the article, Sapan highlighted alleged irregularities in a public land tender worth approximately 800 million lira (around $25 million at the time).
Following the article’s publication, members of the tender commission—among them then-Governor of Diyarbakır Ali İhsan Su—filed a criminal complaint. The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office prepared an indictment accusing Sapan of insulting public officials acting as a board.
Initially, the case was handled through a simplified trial procedure, in which Sapan was sentenced to 135 days of judicial fine, converted to 2,700 lira, with a 5-year probation period. However, following an objection by his lawyer, the case was re-evaluated under a full trial process, which led to the latest decision.
