The ruling stated that while the criticism was harsh, it fell within the bounds of freedom of expression.
Following the February 6 earthquakes centered in Maraş, Aydın Aydoğan, who had been unable to reach his loved ones, shared a post on February 17, 2023, on platform X (formerly Twitter), along with a photo of Selçuk Bayraktar, criticizing the performance of Baykar drones.
Aydoğan wrote: "Some of the drones produced by his company froze after the earthquake, others had wing malfunctions and couldn’t fly. The Turkish Armed Forces flew their own ANKA drones for three days, and communication services returned to normal. When Anadolu Agency covered this, he [Bayraktar] had the story taken down and went to the region, as if the drones were his own and he was responsible."
"He incited lynching, fueled hatred and hostility," Bayraktar claimed
According to reporting by Sibel Yükler of T24, Selçuk Bayraktar filed a lawsuit against Aydoğan, demanding 150,000 lira in moral damages. Bayraktar claimed his personal rights and reputation were harmed.
In a statement submitted to the court through his lawyer, Bayraktar argued that the earthquake victim’s call to the public "incited hatred and hostility and led to a campaign of lynching" against him.
Bayraktar also claimed that Aydoğan used social media and the press to "launch an attack and shape perception," and insisted that Baykar’s drones were in fact flying in the earthquake zone at the time.
Court: "Harsh criticism, but within freedom of expression"
After reviewing both parties’ statements, the Bakırköy 16th Civil Court of First Instance ruled on April 30 to reject the lawsuit.
In its reasoned decision, the court emphasized the right to freedom of expression, stating that the statements in question constituted harsh criticism but did not amount to defamation.
The court found that the post did not aim to attack Bayraktar’s personal rights and that the boundaries of expression and criticism were not breached. It concluded that there were no grounds for restricting the earthquake victim’s freedom of expression.
Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also the son-in-law of President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has previously filed multiple lawsuits related to news coverage about him.
(HA/DT)
