DİYARBAKIR - Seven journalists have been acquitted of targeting Lieutenant General Musa Çitil, who was acquitted of unidentified murder of 13 people in Mardin, led the operation in Sur and was promoted to Deputy General Commandership of Gendarmerie.
Charged with "targeting a public officer who served in counter-terrorism" for reporting and sharing news on Deputy General Commander of Gendarmerie Musa Çitil, seven journalists had their final hearing at the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Court today (December 18).
Announcing its ruling, the court board has ruled that the following journalists shall be acquitted of the offense charged: News Director of Dicle News Agency (DİHA) closed by a Statutory Decree Ömer Çelik; DİHA reporters Çağdaş Kaplan, Hamza Gündüz and Selman Çiçek; journalist A. Vahap Taş; Managing Editor of closed daily Özgür Gündem İnan Kızılkaya and Grant Holder of the newspaper Kemal Sancılı. Put on trial along with the journalists, social media user S.G. has also been acquitted.
Çitil previously filed a lawsuit against eight people, including seven journalists, and alleged that they targeted him by sharing the news reported on the operation that he led in Sur, Diyarbakır when he was the Diyarbakır Gendarmerie Regional Commander. The news report in question was entitled "The siege is called 'Flag 12', it is led by Musa Çitil." The lawsuit filed upon the complaint of Çitil has ended in acquittal of all defendants.