‘Fuat Avni’ lawsuit against daily BirGün ends in acquittal

* Photo: MLSA

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The executives of daily BirGün, who were put on trial for reporting on the messages shared on "Fuat Avni" Twitter account, had their final hearing at the İstanbul 32nd Heavy Penal Court today (October 13).

In their fifth hearing, BirGün's Managing News Director Barış İnce, Executive Board Member Bülent Yılmaz, Managing News Director Cansever Uğur and Executive Board Chair İbrahim Aydın have been acquitted of "knowingly and willingly aiding an armed terrorist organization as non-members."

In the previous hearing, the court board ruled that a writ should be sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to find out whether the journalists were members of any associations, trade unions or professional organizations. In today's hearing, the board examined the file sent by the Ministry.

Following the examination, the prosecutor announced his opinion as to the accusations and demanded the acquittal of the journalists on the grounds that the elements of the offense charged did not arise.

Handing down its judgement following the recess, the court has ruled that the journalists shall be acquitted.

Lawsuits against Diken, T24 ended in acquittal

The account named "Fuat Avni" was active between the years 2013 and 2016 and targeted the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in its tweets. The account, which had hundreds of thousands of followers, claimed to give information from inside the party.

Several people were detained in an investigation against the account, which is linked by authorities to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which is held responsible for the 2016 coup attempt.

Two news websites, namely Diken and T24, were also faced with lawsuits for having reported on the tweets posted by the account.

At the final hearing of the trial on July 2, 2020, the İstanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court ruled that T24 Editor-in-Chief Doğan Akın should be acquitted of "aiding a terrorist organization as a non-member" as the elements of the offense charged did not arise.

Charged with "knowingly and willingly aiding the organization as non-members," diken.com.tr Editor-in-Chief Erdal Güven, one of the founders of the website Harun Simavi and the then Responsible Managing Editor Semin Sezerer were also acquitted at their final hearing on September 3. (HA/SD)