İstanbul’s 35th Penal Court of First Instance has dismissed a 50,000 lira (~1,800 US dollars) defamation lawsuit filed by journalist Şirin Payzın against the right-wing Victory (Zafer) Party leader Ümit Özdağ.
In February, Özdağ accused Payzın of “always being sided with enemies of Turkey” and “working like a voluntary propagandist” for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group following an episode of the discussion program Payzın hosted on Halk TV. In response, the journalist asserted that she was unjustly singled out due to her views.
At the second hearing on Oct 28, neither Payzın nor Özdağ attended, but Payzın was represented by her attorney, Serdar Laçin. Laçin argued that his client’s statements on refugees in Turkey, which expressed concerns over potential demographic impacts and highlighted the importance of teaching Turkish culture and language, had been manipulated.
Özdağ had “selectively quoted Payzın’s words out of context to present her stance as an attack,” he said, requesting that the court consider witness testimony to support Payzın’s claims.
However, the court declined to hear witnesses and ruled to dismiss the case.
After the ruling, Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey’s representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and media monitoring rapporteur at bianet, said, “This ruling shows how provocatively defamatory, targeting, and negative statements aimed at women journalists receive undue tolerance, particularly when they create unfounded, negative perceptions. It should be Payzın, a journalist with indisputable rights before the law, who receives protection—not Özdağ, a politician.”
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
(HA/VK)