- Journalist Fatma Sibel Gürcihan has been acquitted of charges of "spreading misleading information" and "threatening" over a social media post about former Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak. The two charges had been consolidated into a single case.
- At a hearing before the Istanbul Anadolu 78th Criminal Court of First Instance, the court also lifted the judicial supervision measures imposed on Gürcihan and noted that she retained the right to seek compensation for her period of wrongful detention.
Metin Yetim
At the final hearing before the Istanbul Anadolu 78th Criminal Court of First Instance, the court announced its verdict on charges of "publicly disseminating misleading information" under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code and "threatening" under Article 106, which had been consolidated into a single case against journalist Fatma Sibel Gürcihan. The court ruled that the legal elements of neither offense had been established and acquitted Gürcihan of both charges separately.
The ruling also lifted all judicial supervision measures imposed on the journalist, including a travel ban. The court further reminded Gürcihan, who had been held at Marmara Closed Prison for approximately one month during the investigation, that she had the right to file a lawsuit against the Turkish Treasury seeking financial compensation and damages for emotional distress over her wrongful detention.
"I did not threaten anyone"
In her defense statement at the hearing, journalist Fatma Sibel Gürcihan denied the charges against her and explained why she believed the comparison cited in the indictment did not constitute a criminal threat.
"Your Honor, it would be more appropriate to ask my lawyer about the technical aspects of consolidating the cases. In the social media post at the center of the charges, Berat Albayrak was compared to Damat Ibrahim Pasha, who was executed by strangulation during the Ottoman era. The comparison is hurtful, but for it to constitute a threat, there must be a realistic possibility of carrying it out. I would need to have that kind of power. I did make the statements cited in the indictment. I was referring to a historical figure. Since it is not possible for me to strangle or kill Berat Albayrak, I do not believe my words constitute a threat. I reject the charges against me. There is nothing in my actions that constitutes the crime of threatening someone."
"No criminal offense was committed"
Gürcihan's lawyer, Çağrı Çetin, also addressed the court, arguing that the social media posts constituted neither a threat nor the criminal offense of spreading misleading information. He called for his client's acquittal.
"My client's statements do not constitute a criminal offense. Not every statement of this kind amounts to a threat. Since there was no threat, the legal elements of that offense have not been met. The post in question has not been refuted by the complainant. The same claims have been made repeatedly by various individuals, so we do not believe the post constitutes misleading information. Nor has there been any definitive denial of the claims."
