A protracted legal battle between Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT and the news website Sendika.Org has ended with a ruling from the Constitutional Court in favor of the news site.
The case revolved around a controversial award given by the Syrian jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to TRT journalists in 2019. The HTS-linked "Salvation Government" which overrules Syria’s Idlib province had awarded the journalists for their "contributions to the revolution." This event was featured on HTS's official website with the headline, “Salvation Government Leader Fawwaz Hilal Honors TRT Journalists.”
Following this, Sendika.Org reported on the incident with the headline, “TRT ‘Honored’: They Received a Plaque from HTS, which Turkey Considers a Terrorist Organization.”
The public broadcaster responded by filing a 20,000 liras defamation lawsuit against Sendika.Org and its editor, Ali Ergin Demirhan. It claimed that the report manipulated facts and damaged the broadcaster’s reputation by implying connections to an illegal organization.
TRT argued that it was awarded for “objectively conveying the humanitarian tragedy occurring in the region.”
HTS, a jihadist group led by the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front, established the ‘Salvation Government’ in Idlib, Syria, in 2017. HTS has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey since August 2018. Turkey maintains about 70 military outposts with thousands of troops in Idlib.
Legal proceedings
The İstanbul 8th Civil Court of First Instance initially ruled in favor of Sendika.Org, stating that the news article was within the bounds of legitimate criticism and did not violate TRT’s personal rights.
TRT appealed the decision, and the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice's 4th Civil Chamber overturned the initial ruling, awarding damages to TRT.
The court justified its decision by stating that Sendika.Org's report created an impression of TRT being linked to a terrorist organization, used provocative language, and did not maintain a balance between facts and commentary.
Constitutional Court ruling
Sendika.Org brought the matter to the Constitutional Court, which reviewed the case in recent months. The court ruled in favor of Sendika.Org, highlighting the public interest in reporting that TRT, a state broadcaster, received an award from an organization listed as a terrorist entity by Turkey.
The Constitutional Court emphasized that the report was based on factual information, including direct references and quotes from HTS’s official announcement. The court concluded that the article did not include fabricated information or arbitrary attacks and thus fell under the protection of freedom of expression as outlined in Article 26 of the Turkish Constitution.
The ruling also pointed out that the Regional Court had overlooked the importance of freedom of expression in matters of public interest and failed to identify any specific harmful or irrelevant statements in the article.
The Constitutional Court, in light of these explanations, ruled that the freedom of expression of Sendika.Org and Ali Ergin Demirhan, as guaranteed under Article 26 of the Constitution, had been violated.
Ömer Çınar, appointed as a member of the Constitutional Court by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in April 2024, dissented from the ruling. (HA/VK)