Star TV to pay damages over a news on ‘suicide bomber’

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Having filed a lawsuit against Star TV channel for broadcasting a news report entitled "suicide bomber caught" by using a video footage featuring his detention in a different context, retired teacher Eyüp Aksoy will be paid non-pecuniary damages by the channel as the verdict of the local court has recently been upheld by the Court of Cassation.

Aksoy was previously detained as part of an operation against a union in İzmir in 2013. The video captured during this operation and featuring his detention was then used by Star TV as an archive footage in a news report about another person who was allegedly a suicide bomber.

Speaking to bianet about the suit for damages concluded seven years later, Eyüp Aksoy has said, "I have won the lawsuit. But this process caused me to retire from the job. You can guess how several parents of students would approach a teacher who was reported in a news like that."

'His rights violated, he was brought into disrepute'

The detailed judgement of the Court of Cassation has noted that even though the video footage featuring the retired teacher was indicated as "archive footage," it still violated his personal rights.

Indicating that his video footage was used in a news about the detention of a perpetrator reportedly preparing to carry out a suicide attack against the top state officials during İzmir Economy Congress, the Court has noted that the news in question "violated the personal rights of the applicant who was working as a teacher, bringing him into disrepute and discredit."

The Court has also concluded that the use of this footage also violated "the duty and responsibility of the press to give accurate and reliable news and act in a well-intentioned and careful manner." Star TV will now pay Aksoy 12,687 lira in non-pecuniary damages with interest.

Footage was used as 'archive'

An operation was launched against the union, where teacher Eyüp Aksoy was also a member, in İzmir on February 19, 2013. Detained in the operation, he was released three days later. The lawsuit against him at the İzmir 2nd Heavy Penal Court is still ongoing, he is released pending trial.

When he was detained, he was a teacher in Tire.

The video captured during the operation against the union and his subsequent detention was used by Star TV on the main news bulletin November 2, 2013 as well as on the following days. However, this news was not related to Aksoy and his footage was used as an "archive footage."

In the news featuring the images of Eyüp Aksoy, it was said that a suicide attack was planned to be launched in a meeting on İzmir Economy Congress and the related suicide bomber was caught.

'They didn't want me to teach their children'

It was one day later in the teacher's room that Aksoy learned that he was seen in the main news bulletin. Addressed quite a number of questions about the issue both by other teachers and parents of his students, Aksoy says that he finally decided to retire and leave the profession as a result of this.

He filed a suit for damages against Star TV.

In his application, Aksoy said that "while reporting on the prevention of a suicide attack against the top of the government in İzmir and the caught suicide bomber, his images were used in a manner contrary to facts."

The teacher also noted that "he did not have any connection with the related incident and the person reported in the news was another convicted person."

Underlining that "he was clearly seen and recognized in the video footage," Aksoy complained that "after this video was broadcast, parents of students came to the school to ask questions about him, had suspicions about them, did not want him to teach their children."

He also said that "both his own mental integrity and that of his family were impaired due to this incident."

In its defense, Star TV stated that as it did not have the video of the related incident, it used the latest video featuring a detention as archive. It also said that "it was a method used by everyone as a reporting technique."

After the suit for damages was concluded, it was reversed upon objection and a retrial was held. The verdict of the İzmir 21s Civil Court of First Instance dated October 17, 2019 has been upheld by the Court of Cassation. (AS/SD)