Lawsuit filed by Resul Emrah Şahan against Cem Küçük

Imprisoned Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan has filed a 100,000 lira compensation lawsuit against Cem Küçük over "support for terrorism" allegations made on TGRT Haber. His lawyers emphasized that the claims were not based on concrete evidence.

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Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who was arrested as part of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) operations and replaced by a trustee, has filed a 100,000 lira compensation lawsuit against pro-government journalist Cem Küçük.

Şahan took legal action regarding the allegations made by Cem Küçük on the “Taksim Meydanı” program, which aired on TGRT Haber on April 26, 2025, claiming that he was “transferring money to the PKK,” “meeting with a terrorist organization in Brussels,” “providing financing for terrorism,” and “working with individuals linked to the DHKP-C.”

Şahan submitted a petition to the Bakırköy Civil Court of First Instance through his lawyers, Hüseyin Ersöz and Enes Hikmet Ermaner.

The petition stated that the allegations in question were not based on any concrete documents, that no such accusations were included in the MASAK reports within the prosecutor's file, and that the information was used in broadcasts in a manner that violated the confidentiality of the investigation file.

The petition further stated that, in light of the case law of the Court of Cassation and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), serious accusations such as “association with a terrorist organization” can only be proven with concrete evidence, and that otherwise, these claims do not constitute journalism but are clearly an attack on personal rights.