Court says Interior Minister calling professor 'despicable,' 'henchman' was free expression

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An appeals court has ruled that Minister of Soylu's remarks against Prof. Baskın Oran was within the scope of freedom of expression.

Commenting on Oran's 2017 article entitled, "Some tragicomic experiments on Kurds," Soylu had called him "alçak," an insult that roughly translates as "despicable" or "ignoble" and "henchman" (uşak).

The court stated in its ruling that Oran should be "open to criticism," Diken reported.

The article published on June 23, 2017, did not include any comment by Oran but only listed some newspaper articles. About the article, Soylu said on Twitter that "I am making a criminal complaint against Bakın Oran, a henchman who has marketed himself as a scientist and despicably constructed every word of his article."

After the minister's tweet İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had opened an investigation against Oran and eventually given a verdict of non-prosecution.

Following the prosecutor's decision, Oran had filed a claim for non-material damages against Soylu for violating his personal rights.

At the hearing at Ankara 14th Civil Court of First Instance, Oran had said that the court should give the same decision had he said the same things about the minister.

"What would've happened if I addressed Minister Soylu, saying, 'A henchman who has marketed himself as a statesman and despicably constructed every word of his article? Just give a decision thinking about this," Oran had remarked.

Rejecting Oran's claim for damages, the court had stated in its justified decision that Soylu had informed the public about actions that he considered as a crime, used his right to respond to harsh criticism against the state and security forces, and criticized Oran without targeting his personal rights and freedom of expression. It couldn't be said that what Soylu did had an intimidation effect on freedom of expression, the court had ruled.

Appealing the decision, Oran had said Soylu could have expressed criticism without insulting him.

The 25th Civil Chamber of Ankara Regional Court of Justice (appeals court) unanimously rejected Oran's appeal.

Soylu's tweet included his personal values of judgment, was a response to Oran's evaluations and was within the scope of freedom of expression, said the court. Oran should be open to criticism, it noted.

The professor filed another appeal at the Court of Cassation. (HA/VK)