Journalist İsmail Saymaz acquitted in trial over report that 'AKP-affiliated judge in Gezi trial's wife was a FETÖ confessor'! 'If you are ashamed of being AKP-affiliated, you shouldn't have run for office'

Journalist İsmail Saymaz has been acquitted in the trial where he was charged with "insult" and "targeting a public official involved in the fight against terrorism" due to his article claiming that the wife of the AKP-affiliated judge in the Gezi Trial was a FETÖ confessor.

Following the court's acquittal decision, Saymaz stated in his remarks that he drew attention to the date the lawsuit was filed, noting that the case was opened against him after the elections.

Expressing that justice prevailed, Saymaz emphasized that he was fulfilling his journalistic duties and was innocent. He also stated that the people imprisoned in the Gezi Park trial should be released.

Making a statement after the hearing, Saymaz said the following:

"I was acquitted; in fact, I should never have been put on trial. Because what I had essentially written was this: The Gezi Park trial is being heard in this courthouse. One of the judges of the Gezi Park trial, Mr. Murat Bircan, was previously an AKP parliamentary candidate and a deputy mayor 3-4 years ago. While this Gezi Park trial was ongoing, a request for the judge's recusal was made, asking him to 'withdraw from the court.' In those days, I only wrote that the honorable judge was not only an AKP parliamentary candidate but that his wife was also a FETÖ suspect. I wrote this based on court records. I stated that the honorable judge's wife, Mrs. Arzu, had expressed that she was in contact with FETÖ until after the 2016 coup attempt and that she was within this structure. An investigation had been conducted, and a decision of non-prosecution had been issued. I wrote this.

"IT WAS SEEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY"

However, the honorable gentleman, the judge, filed a complaint on behalf of the honorable lady. It was seen for the first time in history. A person filing a criminal complaint on behalf of his wife. Following this criminal complaint, a lawsuit was filed against me for insulting the judge by calling him 'AKP-affiliated' and for publishing the judge's photograph. However, since when is calling someone 'AKP-affiliated' an insult? If you are ashamed of being AKP-affiliated, you shouldn't have run for office. Secondly, how can it be a crime to publish the honorable judge's photograph? We didn't even publish it. According to the expert report, we didn't publish it, but what if we had? They hung the honorable judge's photograph all over the streets of Samsun when he was a parliamentary candidate. Moreover, take note, the date of the lawsuit filed against me was May 29, one day after the election. They waited for the election to end, and once they realized the AKP had won the election, they filed the lawsuit against me. Justice prevailed; my innocence and the fact that I was fulfilling my journalistic duty have been accepted once again today with a court decision.

"STARTING WITH CAN ATALAY..."

In cases like the Gezi Park trial, honest, patriotic, and clean people are lying in prison. They are targets of political trials. The era of people being given political sentences in cases overseen by a member of a political party must now come to an end in Turkey. Starting with Can Atalay, the clean, honest, and patriotic people imprisoned in the Gezi Park trial must also be released."