Lawsuit against journalist Uğur Dündar over Sedat Peker tweets

Click to read the article in Turkish

A lawsuit has been filed against journalist Uğur Dündar upon a complaint of Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu.

Accepting Soylu's report as evidence, İstanbul Beykoz Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment.

In the indictment, Dündar is charged with "praising a crime and a criminal" and faces a prison sentence of up to 2 years. Beykoz Court of First Instance has accepted the case.

The indictment has stated that there is a warrant issued against Sedat Peker, who is currently abroad, for "establishing a criminal organization.

Peker was releasing videos on YouTube last year, where he made serious accusations against current and former senior government officials, including murder, rape, and seizure of property.

The indictment has said that Peker's videos constitute a threat to society. Dündar spoke about Peker's claims in a TV broadcast and also shared messages on Twitter and is charged for that.

What did Dündar say?

Dündar shared on his social media account on September 25, 2021, "My life has been spent fighting against mafias, criminal organizations, thieves, and drug lords. I also wrote about Sedat Peker. I can safely say that now the public sees him not as a leader of a criminal organization, but as a clean fighter of society."

Again on the same date, in a TV broadcast, Dündar said, "Peker did important things about corruption and thieves. In the name of truth, we should thank him."

CLICK - Condemning the journalist to univocality? Not that easy!

(HA/TB/SD)