Büşra Genel
A criminal case has been filed against Nefes newspaper reporter Nisanur Yıldırım on charges of “insulting a public official” over a news report titled “The minister’s company hit a $150 million jackpot”, which focused on the private company of Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
The case, launched following a complaint by Minister Ersoy and an investigation by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, was heard under a procedural instruction at Ankara’s 41st Criminal Court of First Instance. The hearing was monitored by representatives from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) and the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS).
In her defense statement submitted to the court, Nisanur Yıldırım explained that the news report was about the minister’s private company, saying:
“The subject of my report is a hotel construction project undertaken by Minister Ersoy in the tourism sector. This project is being carried out in the private sector, and the company in question is a private company. I was just doing journalism.”
About the case
On July 15, 2025, Nefes published a news story titled “The minister’s company hit a $150 million jackpot”. Following a complaint by Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation that resulted in Nisanur Yıldırım being charged with “insulting and defaming a public official.”
The indictment claims that the article contained defamatory and insulting language against Minister Ersoy, including what prosecutors described as “unlawful and immoral statements.”
