The action for compensation filed by TÜGVA against journalist Kızmaz and the Cumhuriyet newspaper has been accepted in part. The court ordered Kızmaz and Cumhuriyet to pay TL15,000 in compensation

CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL

The second hearing in the action for compensation filed by the Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) against journalist Mehmet Kızmaz and the Cumhuriyet daily was held at the İstanbul 9th Civil Court of First Instance on 19 October 2022.

Kızmaz’s lawyer Damla Çaltepe and TÜGVA’s lawyer Seçkin Koç who joined the trial also as a co-plaintiff, attended the hearing, which P24 monitored. Kızmaz did not attend the hearing.

Kızmaz’s lawyer Damla Çaltepe demanded dismissal of the action. TÜGVA’s lawyer Koç stated that all the evidence had been collected and that they were not requesting an expert opinion and demanded that the action be accepted.

The court accepted the action in part and ordered Kızmaz and Cumhuriyet to pay TL15,000 (820 euros) in compensation.

In their lawsuit petition, the TÜGVA lawyers had asserted that the “public reputation of the foundation and its personal rights” had been damaged in Kızmaz’s article Ensar, TÜRGEV, TÜGVA paralel terör örgütü gibi [Ensar, TÜRGEV and TÜGVA resemble a parallel terrorist organization] published in Cumhuriyet on 23 October 2021.