The court imposed a fine of TL 7,080 on Gülbaş, citing the manner in which the crime was committed, the importance and value of the subject matter of the crime, and the severity of the damage and danger caused. The sentence was deferred

CANAN COŞKUN, İSTANBUL

The fourth hearing in the trial of journalist Melisa Gülbaş on the charge of “insulting a public official in connection with their duties” over a report was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 9 October 2025.

Lawyers for both sides were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24. Gülbaş did not attend the hearing.

At the previous hearing, Gülbaş's lawyer had requested that the file from the İstanbul 3rd Administrative Court concerning Mehmet Turan, who was involved in the case, be submitted to the current file in order to prove the allegations in the news report. At the beginning of the hearing, the presiding judge stated that the file from the İstanbul 3rd Administrative Court had been received by the court. Upon this, Turan's lawyer, Muhammet Lütfü Katırcı, stated that he had no objection to the file. Gülbaş's lawyer, Bilge Batur, requested time to review the file.

The judge stated that the case file related to Turan had been entered into the file on 30 April 2025, and that the lawyer had time to review the file, and rejected the request for time.

The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion on the case they presented at the hearing on 30 May 2024, and requested that Gülbaş be punished for the impugned crime.

The judge asked the lawyers for their statements regarding the prosecutor's opinion. Turan's lawyer, Muhammet Lütfü Katırcı, said he had submitted his statements in writing. Gülbaş's lawyer, Bilge Batur, also stated that the allegations in Gülbaş's news report were based on social media posts by Prof. Dr. Tuna Tuğcu from Boğaziçi University and that these allegations were included in the case file submitted to the court. Batur requested her client's acquittal, stating that the material and moral elements of the crime of “insulting a public official” were not present.

The court imposed a judicial fine of TL 7,080 on Gülbaş, citing the manner in which the crime was committed, the importance and value of the subject matter of the crime, and the severity of the damage and danger caused. The sentence was deferred.

Background of the case

Gülbaş is being tried for an article published on the Gerçek Gündem news site on 18 December 2023, titled “Boğaziçi yönetiminden bilime saldırı: Bize hiçbir laboratuvar ekipmanını koyacak yer bile vermediler. Mehmet Turan Kim?” (Attack on science by Boğaziçi management: They did not even give us a place to put any laboratory equipment. Who is Mehmet Turan?)

The article in question reported that while Boğaziçi University's research center TETAM was being relocated to a 45-square-meter space by the trustee administration, the equipment was being transported in trash bags, and included allegations of harassment against Dr. Mehmet Turan, who was appointed to head the TETAM project.

Access to the article was blocked at the request of Dr. Mehmet Turan. Subsequently, based on Turan's complaint, a case was filed against Gülbaş under Article 125/3 of the Turkish Penal Code for “insulting a public official.”

At the first hearing held on 30 May 2024, the prosecutor presented their final opinion on the case. In their opinion, the prosecutor, who demanded punishment for Gülbaş for the impugned crime, stated, "The act of publishing a personalized announcement stating that the defendant was appointed as a professor while pursuing his doctorate in Switzerland, which is unrelated to his job and does not have any concrete evidence in the file, and the allegations that he sexually harassed two female students and a female secretary, and his statement that he was appointed as a professor through a personal advertisement, when evaluated as a whole, it is understood that the defendant published the news with the intent to insult."

Gülbaş's lawyers had requested that the case file opened at the İstanbul 3rd Administrative Court regarding the complainant Turan be brought to court to prove the allegations in the news report during the third hearing. The court had accepted the request.