A lawsuit has been filed against Food Engineer and bianet columnist Asst. Prof. Dr. Bülent Şık on charges of “disclosure of secrets about duty” (Turkish Penal Code Article No. 258); “provision of prohibited information” (Turkish Penal Code Article No. 334); and “disclosure of prohibited information” (Turkish Penal Code Article No. 336).
The article series entitled “The state has concealed the carcinogen products, we are making them public! Here is the poison list” were published on Cumhuriyet daily newspaper for four days from April 15 to April 18, 2018. After the article series were published on Cumhuriyet, the Ministry of Health filed a criminal complaint against Şık. The indictment, which demands that Şık be sentenced to 5 to 12 years in prison, was first prepared by the Press Crimes Investigation Bureau of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The court rejected the “immediate acquittal request of Şık’s lawyers at the hearing held on 30 May, adjourned the trial to be submitted to the defendants until 26 September (30 May).
İstanbul 2nd Assize Penal Court rendered its judgement at the trial held on 26 September 2019. The court decided on the acquittal of Şık on the charge of “provision of prohibited information” and found him guilty on the charge of “disclosure of secrets about duty”. The Court determined 1 year and 3 months of prison sentence and did not suspend the execution of the sentence, stating that it did not observe any remorse from the defendant.
Şık had had not accept the deferral of the pronouncement of the judgement which would have halt the right to appeal. Thus, lawyers will appeal the decision.
Sentenced to 1 year, 3 months in prison on the grounds that he shared the Health Ministry’s data on cancer with the public, Bülent Şık’s prison sentence has been overturned by the 13th Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice. The Penal Chamber has concluded that the Ministry’s report was not a confidential document; Şık has been acquitted (April 30).
