The sentence of 1 year and 15 days in prison handed to Karabay over report on bribery allegations has been suspended

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

The third hearing in the trial of journalist Furkan Karabay on charges of “insult” and “libel” was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 January 2024. The case was launched upon complaints filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyers Ahmet Özel and Mustafa Doğan İnal.

P24 monitored the hearing, attended by Karabay and lawyers for the parties. Among those who monitored the trial was Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu.

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion presented at the hearing held on 19 September 2023 and requested the court to acquit Karabay of “libel” but sentence the journalist for “insult.”

Complainant Ahmet Özel’s lawyer said they upheld their complaint and requested sentencing for Karabay on both charges.

Delivering a statement against the prosecutor’s final opinion, Karabay repeated his previous defense and requested his acquittal. In his statement against the opinion of the prosecutor, Karabay’s lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner said that the title and content of the news story subject to the charges was based on court minutes and therefore reflected the apparent truth. Ermaner stated they did not agree with the opinion and said: “It is not possible for there to be an insult without there being defamation. I therefore request the acquittal of my client.”

The court ruled to acquit Karabay of “insult” but sentenced Karabay to 1 year and 15 days in prison for "libel." The court suspended the sentence.

Karabay was on trial over a report titled “Yargıda ‘Antalya’ operasyonunda ‘İstanbul’ ayrıntısı: Atanan savcılar neyin göstergesi?” (The "Istanbul" detail in the "Antalya" operation within the judiciary: What do new prosecutors’ appointments indicate?), which was published on the Gerçek Gündem news portal on 22 June 2022.