- Nisanur Yıldırım, a reporter for the Turkish daily Nefes, was acquitted in a trial in which she had been charged with “insulting” a public official following a complaint filed by Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
- The prosecutor had requested that Yıldırım be convicted of publicly insulting a public official. However, the court ruled that the legal elements required for the offense had not been met and acquitted the journalist.
Rabia Çetin
Journalist Nisanur Yıldırım, a reporter for the Turkish daily Nefes, was acquitted in a criminal case brought following a complaint by Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
The ruling was issued by the Bakırköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul. The hearing began 90 minutes late and was attended by Ersoy’s lawyer and Yıldırım’s attorney, Melike Kara. Yıldırım did not attend the hearing. Uniformed police officers were also present in the courtroom.
At a previous hearing, the prosecutor had presented the opinion on the merits of the case and requested that Yıldırım be convicted under Article 125(1) of the Turkish Penal Code, which covers the offense of insult; Article 125(3)(a), concerning insulting a public official because of their duties; Article 125(4), which provides for a harsher sentence when the offense is committed publicly; and Article 53(1), which allows for the deprivation of certain rights upon conviction.
Ersoy’s lawyer told the court that the minister’s complaint remained in effect and requested that Yıldırım be punished.
Yıldırım’s lawyer, Melike Kara, argued that her client had been carrying out journalistic work and that the news report contained no criminal element, requesting her acquittal.
After hearing the defense statements, the judge ruled that the legal elements of the alleged offense had not been established and acquitted Yıldırım.
What had happened?
The case against Yıldırım stemmed from a July 15, 2025, news report titled, “A $150 million windfall for the minister’s company.”
The report included information alleging that Nebula Hospitality, a company owned by Ersoy, had built a hotel on forest-designated land in the Kundu tourism district of Antalya, a Mediterranean resort province in southern Turkey, through a government land-allocation process.
Ersoy filed a complaint, arguing that statements in the article were degrading and targeted him because of his public office.
In an earlier defense statement, Yıldırım said the information in the report was based on concrete facts already in the public domain and should be regarded as part of legitimate journalistic activity.
