Canan Coşkun
Journalist Pınar Gayıp from the Etkin News Agency (ETHA) and her colleague, Mehmet Acettin, have been convicted in a case related to their coverage of a lawyer accused of sexual harassment. The trial, which concluded on March 28, 2024, at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, resulted in Gayıp receiving a six-month and seven-day prison sentence, which was deferred, and Acettin receiving a seven-month and fifteen-day sentence.
The case began following a complaint by lawyer Sezgin Keleş, who was previously convicted of sexual harassment. He alleged that ETHA, under the guise of journalism, propagated terrorist organization propaganda and insulted the state in their news coverage. The articles in question were published on various dates in 2022 and reported on statements and activities of different organizations and individuals.
In court, the defense lawyer, Sezin Uçar, argued that the lawsuit was motivated by revenge and retaliation. Uçar claimed that Keleş targeted journalists who reported on his conviction for harassing his intern, Sena Topuz. She contended that the lawsuit aimed to cover up his own wrongdoing and that the phrases Keleş cited in his complaint were not even present in the raw versions of the news reports. Furthermore, Uçar stated that the remarks were not made by the defendants but were comments from other individuals and entities, arguing that their actions fell under the scope of press freedom.
The court ruled that Gayıp and Acettin had committed the crime of "publicly degrading the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, and its institutions and organs." The verdict cited the manner of the crime, its importance, the severity of the consequences, and the defendants' intent. While Gayıp's sentence was deferred based on a belief that she would not reoffend, Acettin's prior convictions led to the decision not to defer his sentence.
Background of the Case
The legal troubles for Gayıp began after she started reporting on Sezgin Keleş, who was convicted of sexually harassing his intern. Following an interview with the victim, Keleş filed a complaint against ETHA in February 2023, accusing the agency of promoting a terrorist organization and insulting the state. The Prosecutor's Office initiated proceedings, scrutinizing news articles published by ETHA.
The indictment by the Press Crimes Investigation Bureau accused Gayıp and Acettin of "publicly degrading the Turkish Republic" in a series of articles. The prosecution contended that these articles contained statements that insulted the state and demanded a prison sentence of up to three and a half years. The case was accepted by the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, and the prosecutor in the case, Sercan Baş, advocated for their conviction in the trial's third hearing on February 8.
