The 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul and İstanbul High Criminal Court sentenced the executives of now-shuttered Özgür Gündem Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to fines of 28000 Turkish Liras, which was converted from the prison sentence, for the charge of allegedly “insulting the President of Republic” over three cases.
The columnist of the paper, Hüseyin Aykol was also sentenced to pay fines of 7000 Turkish Liras over one of his news articles. All sentences were upheld by the Court of Appeal (27 November 2018).