Assaulted journalists received penalties. Despite insults and damage to equipment recorded in reports, their complaints were dismissed. MLSA lawyers will appeal the decision of non-prosecution.
The decision not to prosecute was made regarding the complaint filed against Şahin Yağar and his relatives, who attacked journalists İdris Yılmaz and Erhan Akbaş in 2017 over a report about a project undertaken by the Erciş municipality.
Lawyers from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Legal Unit have stated their intention to appeal this decision.
Journalists Yılmaz and Akbaş were attacked by contractor Şahin Yağar and his relatives in 2017 while attempting to report on the Erciş municipality's coastal road project. Both parties filed complaints against each other. On June 6, 2023, the Erciş 2nd Criminal Court sentenced Yılmaz to 4 months and 15 days in prison for "intentional injury." The court also fined contractor Şahin Yağar 3,800 Turkish Liras and sentenced him to 10 months and 15 days in prison for the same crime.
Additionally, the court ruled that complaints should be filed against Yağar and his relatives for damaging İdris Yılmaz's camera and insulting Erhan Akbaş during the attack.
However, the Erciş Public Prosecutor's Office decided in January 2024 not to prosecute, citing "insufficient evidence."
Journalist Yılmaz, disputing this, highlighted that the court record from the completed intentional injury trial in June contains a statement from the attacker Şahin Yağar admitting he called Erhan Akbaş "dishonorable."
Yılmaz also noted that the police reports from the day of the incident recorded information about the damage to his camera.
Emine Özhasar, a lawyer from the MLSA Legal Unit representing Yılmaz, stated, "We will appeal the decision with the Erciş Peace Criminal Court."
Background of the incident
The Erciş Municipality opened a tender for the Erciş coastal project, which was awarded to Şahin Yağar. Journalists İdris Yılmaz and Erhan Akbaş discovered that municipal machinery and workers were being used in the project's construction. To inquire about the legality of this, they visited Yağar at the construction site on October 14, 2017.
However, Yağar and his relatives attacked the journalists. The assaulted journalists went to the Erciş State Hospital, where Yağar and his relatives attacked them again. Police intervened, but instead of detaining the attackers, they handcuffed and detained the journalists.
The journalists, after being released, filed a complaint against their assailants. The attackers also filed complaints against the journalists.
