Attorney Of Deniz Yücel: Request for Compensation Rejected Without Justification

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The lawsuit for damages against Turkey which was filed by the Die Welt correspondent Deniz Yücel, who was released from prison in February 2018 after being arrested in Turkey for a year, has been rejected.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has announced on its Twitter account that the İstanbul 17th Heavy Penal Court has rejected the lawsuit for damages of 2.9 million Turkish Lira (approx. 400 thousand Euro) at the first hearing.

Speaking to bianet about the ruling, Deniz Yücel's attorney Veysel Ok has stated, "We were not expecting a verdict of rejection; if this ruling had been a lawful and constitutional ruling, then, the result would have been different."

"A process that will end in ECtHR has started"

Veysel Ok has also said, "Above all, a justification has not been provided, it has been stated that the justification will be provided later."

Ok has added, "We stated that as Yücel is being constantly targeted, it has caused an immaterial damage and therefore, the right to an immaterial compensation has arised due to this unlawful arrest. We have also added the expenditures incurred by the newspaper.

"This court case has not ended here, we will use our right of appeal. It is now a process that will end in the ECtHR (European Court of Human Rights).

Önderoğlu: We wonder the justification very much

RSF's Representative to Turkey, Erol Önderoğlu has also spoken to bianet about the verdict of rejection and said, "As his attorney has also stated, in lawsuits relating to the compensation of damages, I was expecting a process where the result of the criminal suit can be waited."

Emphasizing that the court has rejected the request without justification when the lawsuit has just been filed, Önderoğlu has also said, "If it does not have a very apparent justification as to the procedure, the ruling can only be viewed as an attempt to escape from the responsibility of compensating the damages suffered by Deniz Yücel and granting him his rights.

"We really wonder the justification of the court very much."

* Erol Önderoğlu and attorney Veysel Ok / Photograph: MLSA Turkey

What happened?

Kept in detention in İstanbul Security Directorate for 13 days, Die Welt newspaper reporter to Turkey Deniz Yücel was brought to İstanbul Justice Palace in Çağlayan on February 27 by İstanbul Organized Crimes Department units.

According to the report by BirGün daily, Yücel was questioned about his interview with Cemil Bayık, one of the founders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and council member of Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) in 2015, reports about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Yüksekova and Cizre.

As the part of the same operation, Diken news site editor Tunca Öğreten, Dicle News Diyarbakır Bureau Chief editor Ömer Çelik and BirGün daily newspaper Executive Official Mahir Kanaat were arrested on January 18, 2017. Ömer Çelik was released on October 24, Kanaat and Öğreten were released on December 6, 2017.

Along with Öğreten, Çelik and Kanat, DİHA reporter Metin Yoksu, Yolculuk Newspaper Chief Editor Eray Sargın and ETHA Executive Official Derya Okatan who were detained on December 25, 2016, were released.

Covering house raids that were conducted on December 25, pro-government Sabah daily newspaper reported that Deniz Yücel's name was included as part of the investigation.

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said:

"This man [Deniz Yılmaz] is a terrorist, not journalists and unfortunately the German government lumps my ministers together with this terrorist. The problem lies here.

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel told me 'We would be glad if you free him'. I told her he is not a journalist but terrorist. Deniz Yücel hid in the German Consulate General. This man is a terrorist not journalist".

Of the other arrestees Çelik was released in the first and Tunca was released in the second hearing. (PT/SD)