A lawsuit was filed against Doğan Akın, the editor-in-chief of T24 news website, on the grounds of a news report titled “A tender for income sharing worth 6.9 billion TRY from Emlak Konut to the company of Minister Varank’s cousin. Osman Coşkunpınar, the prosecutor at the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Press Crimes Investigation Bureau, filed a lawsuit on charge of “insulting a public official” (as per the Article 125/3a of the Turkish Penal Code – TCK).
Doğan Akın gave his statement following the criminal complaint. In his statement, Akın said that none of the allegations made in Minister Varank’s criminal complaint was in the news report. Akın said that the allegation that Bakan Varank was incriminated over the tender and irregularities did not reflect the truth. However, Osman Coşkunpınar, who indicted the journalist, filed the lawsuit by indicating that when the news report was considered as a whole, it tarnished the honor, prestige and reputation of Minister Varank. Akın will face up to 2 years in prison at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance (January 26).