ELİF AKGÜL
Tuncay Özdamar, the manager of WDR Cosmo Türkçe, has been awarded compensation by an Istanbul court after being wrongfully detained at Ankara Esenboğa Airport. The third hearing of the case, in which Özdamar sought damages from the Treasury for being held in custody for 14 hours, was held at the Istanbul 15th Heavy Penal Court.
Represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Legal Unit, Özdamar’s lawyer, Emine Özhasar, requested that the court accept the compensation claim. The prosecutor also supported the acceptance of the claim.
The court ruled in favor of Özdamar, ordering the Treasury to pay 380.07 lira in material damages and 1,000 lira in moral compensation for his wrongful detention.
Case background
On September 30, 2023, Özdamar was detained at Ankara Esenboğa Airport while visiting Turkey to see his sick mother. He was stopped at passport control at 1:30 a.m. and held on allegations of "targeting individuals involved in counterterrorism efforts." Özdamar was held for 14 hours in the airport’s holding area before being released after giving a statement to the on-duty prosecutor at the Ankara Courthouse. The investigation against him was dropped on November 30, 2023.
