Nationalist Turkish Party Istanbul Chairperson Bilal Gökçeyurt and the chairperson of the “Turan Organization” Ercan Uçar threatening Agos by placing black wreath in front of their office. (Source: Agos)
ISTANBUL (Agos)— Nationalist Turkish Party Istanbul Chairperson Bilal Gökçeyurt and the chairperson of the “Turan Organization” Ercan Uçar have been acquitted on November 18 in the case of the threat against Agos Newspaper. Agos’ lawyer Hakan Bakırcıoğlu objected to the ruling.
On April 24, 2015, a black wreath was put in front of the office of Agos and a declaration titled “One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly.” Agos filed a criminal complaint against this threat, and the trial was held Friday.
Gökçeyurt and Uçar have been acquitted on the grounds that “there is no element of a crime.”
Agos Editor-in-chief Yetvart Danzikyan attended the hearing on behalf of complainant.
During the hearing, Danzikyan said “They had put a black wreath while the office was closed. We saw it in the morning. Then, we saw that they released a video about their action titled as ‘One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly.’ We filed a criminal complaint. There had been similar actions when Hrant Dink was working in Agos. You know what happened to Hrant Dink. Thus, we considered this action as a threat.”
The suspects claimed that they exercised their right to democratic protest.
Bakırcıoğlu objected to the ruling on the ground that acquittal openly violates the law and rule, since there is solid evidence showing that the suspects committed the crimes of threatening and insulting.
The indictment issued by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s office stated that the suspects regard Agos as responsible for Armenia’s actions in Karabakh, though the newspaper has no influence over the actions of the Armenian state.
It was also stated that the suspects committed the crimes of threatening and insulting by reminding Hrant Dink with the title of “One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly” and releasing their press statement on the same day. The prosecution demanded prison sentence for the suspects on the charges of threatening and insulting.
Following the case, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey stated via social media “The threat against Agos goes unpunished and it is troubling. This ruling encourages similar attacks.”
Source: Asbarez
Link: Threat against Agos Newspaper Goes Unpunished