ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency


The news editor and owner of a daily were fined yesterday for turning judges of a top court into targets.

The trial is about the paper printing the photos of judges of the Council of State Second Bureau as the ones who had found a teacher who wore a headscarf outside of school hours at fault.

Anadolu'da Vakit daily printed the photos of the court members under the heading “These are the members” (İşte o üyeler) on Feb. 13 2006. The owner Nuri Aykon and news editor Harun Aksoy were fined YTL 100000 and YTL 11000 respectively by the Istanbul 12th Court for Serious Crimes for making court members targets for terrorist groups.

On May 17 2006 a gunman chanting religious slogans burst into the court chamber and shot at the same judges killing one and wounding four others.

After being captured the gunman said he had attacked the court for their decision on the headscarf. The daily was criticized after the attack.

The lawyer for the Anadolu'da Vakit's owner and news editor Ali Pacci speaking at the court said his clients were being victimized dismissing claims that the story had anything to do with the crimes.

He cited recent reports about the gunman being the tool of an ultra-nationalist gang called Ergenekon out to create public upheaval to facilitate a military coup. “Reports about the Ergenekon gang show that the story had nothing to do with crime” he said. He said many had criticized the Council of State decision at the time arguing that the story was a criticism and nothing else.

His request for the court to demand relevant information from the Ergenekon investigation was rejected.