Berat Albayrak, former Minister of Treasury and Finance, has filed a compensation lawsuit against Mehmet Yakup Yılmaz over his T24 article titled "Mr. Berat's friends won, we lost."
Albayrak, who is also the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP Chairman, deemed the article as untrue and claimed it damaged his honor and dignity. Through his lawyer, İsa Sinan Göktaş, Albayrak applied to the Anatolian Civil Court of First Instance and asserted that the article amounted to an attack on his personal rights.
In his petition to the court, Albayrak clarified that he is not a partner in Powertrans, the company transporting oil from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. He is seeking a compensation of 150,000 liras from Yılmaz and the Editor-in-Chief, Doğan Akın.
Following the article, Albayrak had previously obtained a court order from the Istanbul Anatolian 2nd Penal Judgeship of Peace, claiming a violation of his personal rights and demanding a ban on access to the article.
Erol Önderoğlu, Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Turkey and BİA Media Monitoring Reporter, commented on the case, highlighting the economic pressure on journalists in Turkey. He pointed out that numerous reporters, including Barış Pehlivan, Furkan Karabay, and Ceren Sözeri, face hefty compensation lawsuits, indicating the economic challenges journalists endure.
In the mentioned article, Mehmet Yakup Yılmaz had stated that Turkey was liable for a $1.5 billion compensation to Iraq due to transporting Kurdistan oil without Baghdad's permission. He also claimed that Berat Albayrak was one of the partners in Powertrans, the company involved in the oil transportation from Kurdistan. (HA/V)
