‘Saying only “son-in-law” is apparently a crime now’

Click to read the article in Turkish

Speaking after a match between Göztepe and Beşiktaş football clubs, lawyer and Beşiktaş Council Board member Ali Rıza Dizdar used the word "son-in-law." An investigation has been launched against him over this word. Dizdar now faces a possible charge of "insult."

Deposing to the prosecutor's office as part of this investigation, Dizdar noted he did not utter the name or title of Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak in his speech, reiterating that he only said "son-in-law."

Albayrak is the complainant of the investigation.

In his deposition on June 26, lawyer Ali Rıza Dizdar briefly said:

"There is no insult in my related speech. The news reported in the press used the sentence 'the son-in-law interfered', but I only said 'son-in-law' in my speech. I did not utter the name of the complainant in my speech. My speech was a critique of the Göztepe match. I did not target anyone. I do not accept the offense charged against me."

"Saying 'son-in-law' is apparently a crime now," his attorney Efkan Bolaç has commented on the investigation.

What happened?

As reported by Ajansspor news website, Ali Rıza Dizdar spoke at the Council Board meeting of Beşiktaş JK on February 15, 2020 and made the following remarks about the Göztepe-Beşiktaş match, which was rejected by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF):

"I watched the Göztepe match as an expert in sports law, beyond my capacity as a legist. We will examine all UEFA, FIFA and other rules one by one. The referee blew the whistle when the ball was still in the air. Why did he do it? Because there is a rule. If a footballer gets wounded in a dangerous position, the referee stops the game immediately. He even stops the man who is about to score. Because the health of a footballer is above everything.

"The referee blew the whistle when the ball was in mid-air. He did not blow it when the ball was between Atiba and Göztepe players. The ball may not have gone there. Here is the thing: A decision was taken to repeat the match from where it was left off. I am saying this openly, I am saying this because I now. I can also give a name. The game would continue from where it was left off. But the political power, the son-in-law prevented it. And the son-in-law, without feeling any shame for this, had the penalty of Sörloth reduced to one match. This means the following: It was done to ensure that Sörloth would play against Beşiktaş. These are all seen now."

The TFF previously rejected the Beşiktaş's request for repeating its match with Göztepe, which it had lost 2 to one due to an error of rule.

CLICK - 'Critical Press Under Threat in Turkey'

According to the First Quarterly Media Monitoring Report of bianet, the name of Minister Berat Albayrak was mentioned in the following investigations, lawsuits and access blocks targeting journalists and media outlets in Turkey in the first three months of 2020:

* An investigation was launched against reporter Hazal Ocak over a news report published on daily Cumhuriyet on January 20, 2020 and featuring the estate bought by Albayrak along the route of Canal İstanbul project.

* Six journalists are currently standing trial for having reported on the information cited in his emails which were hacked by Redhack while Albayrak was the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

* BirGün Editorial Coordinator İbrahim Varlı appealed against his judicial fine over a news report on Panama Papers, he has been acquitted.

* Albayrak filed a suit for damages of 100 thousand Turkish Lira (TRY) against daily Cumhuriyet columnist Barış Terkoğlu and newspaper executive Alev Coşkun over an article about himself.

* In three months, the İstanbul Anatolian 7th Penal Judgeship of Peace ordered access block to 232 links of news about the estate bought by Albayrak along Canal İstanbul route. (AS/SD)