Journalist Furkan Karabay on trial for reporting on lawyer who shared photo from prosecutor's office

Journalist Furkan Karabay is being tried under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for "publicly degrading the judicial organs of the state" after reporting on Istanbul Bar Association lawyer Buket Nurşah Tekışık, who shared a photo on social media taken in a prosecutor's office.

The final hearing of the case against Karabay will be held on January 7, 2025, at 10:05 AM at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

PHOTO POST HAD CAUSED A STIR IN THE JUDICIARY

Lawyer Buket Nurşah Tekışık had shared a photo taken in the office of a prosecutor working at the Terror and Organized Crime Investigation Bureau at the Çağlayan Courthouse on her social media account with the note, "I never lose. I either win or I learn." Following this post, an investigation was launched into both the prosecutor and the lawyer.

Journalist Furkan Karabay, who reported on the post in question, conveyed public reaction in his news piece, suggesting that such a post by a lawyer from a prosecutor's office could damage the impartiality of the judiciary. However, this report led to Karabay being sued on charges of degrading judicial organs.

INVESTIGATION HAD BEEN LAUNCHED INTO PROSECUTOR AND LAWYER

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office drew up a report regarding the prosecutor in whose office the photo was taken and changed the prosecutor's place of duty. A disciplinary investigation had also been initiated against lawyer Buket Nurşah Tekışık by the Istanbul Bar Association.