The lawsuit filed by our newspaper Evrensel against the Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) for cancelling its right to publish official announcements and advertisements has been rejected. The Istanbul 2nd Administrative Court rejected the case. In its decision, the court accepted BİK's argument that "buying more than one newspaper is a crime" and dismissed the case on the grounds that "a total of 359 copies were delivered to various political parties and companies" and therefore "the minimum requirement for actual sales was not met".
Devrim Avcı, Evrensel's lawyer, and Hakkı Özdal, our editor-in-chief, announced the decision in a statement at the Academy building of the Turkish Journalists' Union (TGS).
Devrim Avcı said. "The court did not evaluate our objections in any way. It considers it a violation that members of the Labour Party are selling the newspapers bought during Izelman's CBA agreement, but it does not provide any reasonable justification. We can see no justification in the tribunal's decision. It does not discuss what is reasonable, but insists that more than one newspaper was bought through several dealers in Istanbul. There is a concept we use in our judgments: "the ordinary course of life".
For example, it is assumed that a person in Aksaray bought 200 newspapers and distributed them in different districts, but this would not be possible in the provinces, and since most of the dealers made individual purchases, Avcı said, "We think the court's decision is biased. We have the right to appeal the decision within 30 days, a process that can go all the way to the ECHR if necessary. The problem is that BİK is constantly monitoring the Evrensel newspaper on the basis of this decision, but this situation is ignored especially in the favoured newspapers. This situation is against the principle of equality before the law.
Evrensel editor-in-chief Hakkı Özdal said the decision meant a financial loss for Evrensel and another challenge for publishing under the pressure of media monopolies. Stressing that the decision will not be an obstacle, Özdal said: "It is assumed that one person can buy more than one newspaper, but the distribution monopolies ignore the demands of our newspaper. Some of our readers and volunteers are organising to ensure that our paper is distributed everywhere".
Stressing that the decision was a political one, Özdal said: "We also followed the hearings and saw with our own eyes the bond of love between the defendant and the decision-makers. This verdict is the last appearance not only of Evrensel, but also of the last remaining law that can be called law".
Özdal said that BİK, like RTÜK, which is an instrument of pressure on television broadcasting, is an increasingly powerful stick for internet journalism and printed newspapers and added: "Evrensel's publication disturbed the media. The judiciary backed this illegal decision by BİK. We are now facing not only BİK but also the Administrative Court.
Citing the example of how the internet settings in the region were changed in such a way that Evrensel could not be accessed after we reported that a worker at the Tosyalı Iron and Steel Factory tried to put out a fire with water from a carboy, Özdal said, "We are facing both regime law and capital at the same time. We know the reason for the hostility we are facing. We see it not only in this decision, but also in the non-renewal or refusal to issue press cards to the staff of our newspaper. A political embargo has been imposed on Evrensel. We will overcome this embargo with the solidarity of our friends and, above all, with the solidarity of our readers. Evrensel has an organic readership, it is a newspaper that is mainly concentrated among the workers. In February we will have a campaign for digital and print subscriptions in solidarity with this decision. We will overcome this problem, this decision is not a decision that can stop Evrensel, but we will overcome the rough edges created by this decision".
The Press Advertising Agency (BİK) cancelled our right to publish official announcements and advertisements in September 2019. On 22 August 2022, BİK cancelled our newspaper Evrensel's right to publish official announcements and advertisements on the grounds that our readers bought more than one newspaper from vendors, the institution's subscriptions and registration books were not kept regularly. Following the cancellation decision, our newspaper filed two appeals with the Press Advertising Agency to have the decision overturned. However, the General Directorate of BİK rejected the appeals on the grounds that "no new positive information and documents have been submitted that would eliminate the violation of the newspaper". Devrim Avcı, the newspaper's lawyer, took the decision to court.
The first hearing of the lawsuit filed by our newspaper Evrensel against the cancellation of its right to publish official advertisements by the Press Advertising Agency (BİK) was held on 28 November at the Istanbul 2nd Administrative Court. Although the lawsuit for cancellation of the transaction and suspension of its execution set a precedent, the court decided to dismiss the lawsuit.
In its decision, the court confirmed that BİK had unlawfully cancelled the advertisements and announcements. BİK had cancelled our right to publish official announcements and advertisements on the grounds that our readers bought more than one newspaper from newsagents, corporate subscriptions and registration books were not kept regularly.
In its decision, the court said: "It has been established that the delivery of the newspaper is continuous and that a total of 359 copies have been delivered to various political parties and companies that do not qualify as distributors at the last point; that the sectoral registers, which must be kept in an electronic environment, are not processed daily, in violation of the Communiqué on registers to be kept in an electronic environment; and that there are 50 subscriber sales indicated in the distributors' and subscribers' register, whose invoices are issued for each publication day of the newspaper.
In this case, in the context of the provisions of the aforementioned legislation, it is stated that it is essential that the sales at the last point of sale are actual and individual, and since it is understood that the plaintiff newspaper has not fulfilled the minimum requirement of actual sales required by the legislation, if the bulk sales made in relation to the plaintiff newspaper are excluded, it is concluded that there is no inconsistency with the law in the acts which are the subject of the action brought for the termination of the right to publish official notices and advertisements of the daily newspaper Evrensel, of which the plaintiff is the concessionaire, in accordance with the Regulation on Official Notices and Advertisements and Periodicals for their Publication. "
In its decision, BİK cited the results of audits carried out on distributors and considered the subscription newspapers bought by 13 different provincial and district organisations of the Labour Party (EMEP) and the multiple purchases made by our readers from different distributors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kocaeli as grounds for cancellation.
The newspapers subscribed to by the Labour Party's provincial and district organisations and various municipalities were declared "irregular" on the grounds that these institutions "do not qualify as final distributors".
The Constitutional Court, in the grounds of its violation decision issued on 10 August regarding the advertisement cut-off fines imposed by BİK on Evrensel, BirGün, Cumhuriyet and Sözcü newspapers, stated that freedom of the press and freedom of expression had been violated and that this was due to structural problems, and ruled that the Parliament should be informed about this.
The Constitutional Court stressed that the freedom of expression of the press had been violated and also stated that "it has been observed that the decisions of the Press Advertising Agency have gone beyond the purpose of regulation and have become a means of punishment that may have a deterrent effect on some members of the press, and this situation has created a systematic problem".
With this decision, the Constitutional Court stated that the conditions for the punishment of official announcements and advertisements should be formulated, that the article of the law should be reorganised in form and content with clear and precise expressions, and that there was a systematic problem with BİK's assessments. (EVRENSEL DAILY)
Ceren Sözeri
Yusuf Karadaş
Aras Coşkuntuncel