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October 09, 2025 – Turkey –
In Istanbul, journalist Melisa Gülbaş has been ordered by a criminal court to pay 7,080 Turkish lira (around USD 220) after being convicted on a charge of insulting a public official under Article 125/3 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The judgment came at the fourth hearing of her trial in the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. Gülbaş did not attend this session; her legal team and representatives from the prosecution were present. The case stems from an investigative article she published on 18 December 2023 on the Gerçek Gündem website, titled “Attack on science by Boğaziçi management: They did not even give us a place to put any laboratory equipment. Who is Mehmet Turan?”
In that article, Gülbaş reported that Boğaziçi University’s Applied Research Center for Advanced Technologies in Engineering (TETAM) had been relocated by the university’s trustee administration to a cramped 45-square-meter site, requiring staff to move lab equipment in trash bags. She also included claims of harassment by Dr. Mehmet Turan, who had been appointed to lead the facility. After publication, Dr. Turan filed a complaint, which triggered a legal process against her.
During the hearing, prosecutors argued the article contained unverified allegations irrelevant to Turan’s official duties and was published with the intention to insult. Gülbaş’s attorney countered that the piece was based on public social media statements by Professor Tuna Tuğcu, that she sought his responses, and that she did not assert claims definitively but relayed them as allegations.
The court found her guilty, citing how the offense was executed and the “severity of the damage and danger caused.” However, the fine was suspended, meaning it will not be enforced unless she commits another offense during a specified period.
Rights groups have long criticized the use of insult and defamation laws in Turkey as tools to silence investigative journalism and dissent.
If you like, I can draft a follow-up touching on how similar laws have affected press freedom in Turkey or reactions from press freedom groups.
Reference –
Turkish journalist fined over report allegedly insulting public official
