Suit for damages against newspapers for reporting on a Parliamentary question

* Photo: Ministry of Health webpage

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ankara MP Murat Emir addressed a Parliamentary question to Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca and asked him about the allegations that a company, among the shareholders of which are the spouse and son of Vice Minister of Health Sabahattin Aydın, got a tender from the Ministry of Health.

Vice Minister of Health Aydın has filed a lawsuit for damages against Cumhuriyet, BirGün and Evrensel newspapers, which reported on the Parliamentary question submitted by the main opposition MP.

First rebuttal/ correction notice, then lawsuit

Evrensel has said that after it reported the news with its article titled "The lucrative tenders of the Ministry to the lap of Vice Minister" on June 19, 2021, Aydın sent a notice of rebuttal/ correction to the newspaper and this document was published on the newspaper on August 26.

In this document, Aydın's lawyer said that "Aydın did not have a family business and there was no company where his spouse or son was a shareholder." The document noted that the "Bilbest" company was founded by 4 shareholders, including his spouse, 20 years ago and his spouse transferred her shares to the other founders in the 2nd year of establishment.

The statement indicated that Aydın's son had worked at the related company as a software developer in the position of an insured worker for five years and he was also a petty shareholder of the company. According to the statement, Aydın's son quitted his job at the company in 2020 and transferred his shares, thereby having no connection with the company.

After the notice was published by Evrensel, Aydın applied to the İstanbul 4th Civil Court of First Instance and demanded 100 thousand lira in damages from Görkem Kınacı, the Managing Editor of Evrensel.

Even though Aydın has admitted in the case file that his spouse and son were among the shareholders of the company, he has argued that his honor and prestige have been tarnished by the news.

'Aim is to hinder news reporting'

Speaking about the issue, Evrensel's lawyer Devrim Avcı has said that there is an attempt to prevent journalists from reporting on the government giving tenders to pro-government companies and people from hearing about these tenders by launching such lawsuits.

Underlining that a Parliamentary question submitted to the Parliament by an MP was covered in Evrensel's article, Avcı has said: "If a newspaper is not to report on an MP's Parliamentary question, what will it report? The duty of the media is to ensure that the truth is brought to light."

Referring to the similar incident of tender at the Ministry of Trade, the lawyer has said, "But nothing has been done in the face of this. The news reported by our newspaper is about the public resources that are made presents to pro-government circles, friends and relatives."

Applying to the İstanbul 17th Civil Court of First Instance on the same ground, Aydın has demanded 100 thousand lira from Cumhuriyet Managing Editor Olcay Büyüktaş Akça and reporter Erdem Sevgi.

While he was working as the rector of İstanbul Medipol University,, Aydın was appointed as the Vice Minister of Health on November 18, 2020. (KÖ/SD)