Nisanur Yıldırım, who was on trial for “insulting a public official” over a news report, has been acquitted

The third hearing in the case filed against Nefes newspaper reporter Nisanur Yıldırım upon a complaint by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy on charges of “insulting a public official” was held at the Bakırköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 11 June 2026. 

At the hearing, which was monitored by P24, Yıldırım’s lawyer Melike Kara, and the lawyer representing Mehmet Nuri Ersoy were present. Yıldırım did not attend the hearing.

Ersoy’s lawyer stated that their complaints remain valid and requested that Yıldırım be punished.

In their final opinion on the case submitted at the previous hearing, the prosecutor had claimed that Yıldırım committed the impugned crime and demanded punishment. Kara, Yıldırım’s lawyer, who presented the defense against the opinion, stated, “There is no statement in the news report that constitutes a crime. It is entirely a journalistic activity; we request that our client be acquitted.”

The court ruled that the elements of the crime of ”insulting a public official" were not present and acquitted Nisanur Yıldırım.

Background of the case

On 15 July 2025, an investigation was launched by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Nefes newspaper reporter Nisanur Yıldırım, upon a complaint filed by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, citing a news article published under the headline “Bakanın şirketine 150 milyon dolar piyango vurdu” (Minister's company wins 150 million-dollar lottery.)

Upon completion of the investigation, an indictment was filed on 5 September 2025, charging Yıldırım with “insulting a public official in connection with their duties.” The indictment included a summary of the complaint filed by the plaintiff’s representative and the defense petition submitted to the case file by Yıldırım's lawyer.

The indictment stated that the plaintiff was the Minister of Culture and Tourism and included the following statements from the letter that was the subject of the complaint: “It has been revealed how they acquired the coupon land in Antalya. They won the lottery for 150 million dollars,” "The allocated land, which is said to be worth 150 million dollars if put up for auction today, went to Tourism Minister Ersoy's company. Now a hotel is being built on that land,” ”The treasury land was opened for development without tender for the minister's 5-star hotel; the minister's company hit the jackpot; It has been revealed that Tourism Minister Ersoy's company Nebula, which traveled to Greece on a luxury yacht, had a hotel built without a tender on forest land in Kundu, Antalya.”

According to the indictment, these statements constituted the crime of “insulting a public official.” The prosecutor requested that journalist Nisanur Yıldırım be punished for the impugned crime.