A Turkish journalist has been given a 13-month jail sentence after she was found guilty of defaming and insulting former Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim and his two sons.
Journalist Pelin Unker had revealed that Mr Yildrim’s two sons owned two companies in Malta.
Their ownership of these companies was revealed in the 2017 Paradise Papers leaks.
The Paradise Papers, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, had enabled journalists to search for directors or shareholders of Maltese companies using data obtained from the Malta Financial Services Authority, whose own publicly available database does not allow for such searches.
The two brothers were shown to own Hawke Bay Marine and Black Eagle Marine.
Journalist Pelin Ünker has been sentenced to 1 year 1 month 15 days prison term for insult to former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and his sons as well as compensation of ₺8.660 fine due to her coverage of #ParadisePapers for Cumhuriyet Daily. pic.twitter.com/oPWo6oUWVA
— dokuz8NEWS (@dokuz8_EN) January 8, 2019
Ms Unker’s lawyer argued in the defamation case that the reporting about the Yildrims’ ownership of the two companies was in the public interest.
"I did my duty as a journalist. The story was about public figures. I fulfilled my duty to announce the incident to the public. The right to reply was granted to himself. I don't think the story I did constitutes a crime”, Ms Unker was quoted as saying.
She was also fined 8,660 Turkish lira (€1,400).