BirGün newspaper to pay damages to foundation led by Erdoğan’s son-in-law

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In the lawsuit filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar and his brother Haluk Bayraktar for BirGün's news titled "TÜBİTAK is working for the son-in-law's foundation", the court ordered a compensation to be paid.

The İstanbul 23rd Penal Court of First Instance ordered BirGün and reporter İsmail Arı to pay 200 thousand Turkish lira (~12,521 US dollars) in compensation for the news about TÜBİTAK's 7.6 million Turkish lira (~475,800 US dollars) spending on TEKNO FEST organized by Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3) Foundation.

T3 Foundation is a non-governmental organization led by Erdoğan's son-in-law, Selçuk Bayraktar, and his brother, Haluk Bayraktar.

BirGün's attorney, Ali Deniz Ceylan, stated that the decision of the court was unlawful.

"The article by Birgün conforms to freedom of the press," he said.

Defining the decision of the court as "shameful," attorney Ceylan noted, "I think this amount is one of the highest non-pecuniary damages decisions given about a news story in the history of the Turkish press."

What happened?

Selçuk Bayraktar and his brother Haluk Bayraktar applied to the court on September 22 last year and demanded a total of 250 thousand liras in compensation for the news titled "TÜBİTAK is working for the groom's foundation" by İsmail Arı in BirGün.

The lawyers of the brothers said, "It is obvious that the defendants' intention is not to report news or inform the public, but to attack the personal rights of my clients," to the court board.

The lawsuit filed by TÜBİTAK regarding the same news was rejected by the Ankara 18th Penal Court of First Instance. (HA/TB/VK)