Demir, the former publisher of the news portal Gazete Karınca, was on trial over two news reports published in 2016

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL 

The third hearing of journalist Necla Demir, the former publisher of the news portal Gazete Karınca, took place on 28 October 2020 at the Bakırköy 8th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Demir was charged with “insulting the president” over two news reports published in October 2016 on Gazete Karınca. One of the reports was about an email by US diplomat Stuart E. Eizenstat, leaked by Wikileaks, that included comments on Erdoğan’s policies, and the other was a report about an interview with the hacker group RedHack, who hacked Minister Berat Albayrak’s emails in 2016. The interview was originally published on Bianet.

P24 was in the courthouse to monitor the third hearing, where Demir was not in attendance. She was represented by her lawyer Sercan Korkmaz. The court did not allow spectators inside the courtroom due to Covid-19. The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion, in which they requested Demir’s acquittal.

Ruling in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court ruled for Demir’s acquittal on the grounds that the alleged criminal act was not defined in law.