Charges dropped against daily Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief

Ayşegül Usta ISTANBUL

Charges against Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Can Dündar for “insulting” and “slandering” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in an interview have been dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The court emphasized that the interview in question should be considered within the scope of the right to criticize and inform the public, providing examples from previous rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). According to the verdict, the way the information was conveyed to the public was in complete accordance with the law, though the complainant and his attorney have the right to publicly object or request a correction of the allegations in the aforementioned interview.

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office also stated in the verdict that freedom of expression does not only cover ideas that are well-received or positive, but also those that are offensive, shocking or disturbing.

A criminal investigation was launched into Dündar on Feb. 24 over remarks he made in an interview with Celal Kara, a Turkish prosecutor who was in charge of the notorious corruption case in December 2013 targeting several top government figures.