Turkish court bins $5,000 fine against writer

ANKARA

A writer who was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine amid accusations he had defamed a former Turkish president had his rights violated, the country’s top court has ruled.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that the decision to force Ergun Poyraz to pay compensation to former head-of-state Abdullah Gul was a violation of the writer’s entitlement to freedom of expression.

The decision was been published in the Turkish official gazette on Thursday.

Published in May 2007, Musa'nin Gul'u [Moses' Gul] included accounts of complainant Abdullah Gul's education, marriage and political life.

At that time Gul was a candidate for Turkish presidency.

On July 11, 2007, Gul filed a lawsuit for “mental anguish” on the grounds that several expressions in the book were not true and had damaged his honor and reputation.

Poyraz defended himself in court, saying there were no unrealistic expressions in the book and it was based on objective information and sources.

The Civil Court of First Instance dismissed the initial case on July 21, 2009, saying that politicians could be exposed to severe criticisms and could tolerate them.

However, an appeal was later approved by the Court of Cassation.

After a re-trial, the Civil Court of First Instance in Ankara decided on July 5, 2012 that Poyraz was to pay compensation amounting to 15,000 Turkish liras ($5,147) for “attacks on personal rights by humiliation”.

After a lengthy legal battle, Poyraz eventually applied to the Constitutional Court on Nov. 22, 2013, leading to a two-year process, the results of which were published today.