Local journalist acquitted in case filed for 'disturbing' deputy mayor

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A court has acquitted journalist Yakup Önal, the managing editor of Şarköy'ün Sesi, a local newspaper in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, in a case filed by the deputy mayor Şarköy district.

Deputy Mayor Adnan Sevim had filed the case after a report about the shoreline in front of a housing estate where Sevim has a house being paved with rocks. The article questioned its cost to the public.

The final hearing of the case for "dissemination of personal information" took place yesterday (November 18) at the Şarköy Penal Court of First Instance. The journalist faced two to four years in prison.

Mayor Alpay Var of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), CHP Şarköy District Chair Birol Taner, and other CHP executives in Şarköy attended the hearing.

In his statement of defense, Önal said, "I've been publishing a newspaper in Şarköy for 20 years. And I've been a journalist for 30 years."

After the new municipal administration assumed office following the 2019 local elections, rocks that weigh up to one ton each were transported to the area between Gölet and Kovalık and he reported on that, said the journalist.

"Those rocks were not there before the elections. They were brought there with the new administration taking office. And I found it to be newsworthy.

"In the report, I gave the information that Sevim had a house in a housing estate in Kovalık. However, I didn't give information about where his house was in the housing estate. In short, I didn't share personal information."

Önal's attorney Ongun Mızrak requested the acquittal of his client, saying that elements of the crime did not occur.

"We were disturbed"

Speaking after the attorney, Deputy Mayor Sevim said, "Even though I don't have a political identity and the final decision to transport the rocks was not mine, Yakup Önal made a report that is contrary to the facts, as if I was responsible for all of these.

"However, I'm not an elected person. I'm an academic at Anadolu University and was appointed as the deputy mayor. Önal targeted my house while making the report. My family was disturbed. For this reason, I want him to be sentenced."

The prosecutor also demanded a sentence for Önal. However, the court acquitted him because the charged act was not defined as a crime in the law.

What happened?

Taking office after the2019 local elections, Mayor Alpay Var of the CHP appointed academic Adnan Sevim as the deputy mayor.

In October 2019, rocks were paved on the beach in front of the housing estate in a 300-meter long area.

After being notified about the incident, journalist Yakup Önal went to the area. Taking pictures of the rocks and the housing estate, he published a report. He also noted that Sevim had a house in the housing estate.

Sevim filed a complaint against the journalist in April. In his petition of complaint, he cited the investigation into CHP İstanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu and CHP Üsküdar district chair for taking pictures of the house of Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.

A case was filed after the complaint. (HA/VK)