Türkiye's Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan has taken legal action against the daily Tercuman over an April 2006 article alleging that construction permits for his villas were rushed through official channels.
Unakitan's legal team filed the suit at Ankara's Third Civil Court, naming the newspaper, its chief executive Bulent Ergin, and reporter Erhan Ozturk as defendants. The minister is seeking 50,000 YTL (approximately 36,500 USD) in compensation for harm to his reputation.
The filing argues that the defendants could have verified the facts before publishing and that the article fell outside the legitimate bounds of press freedom, given the importance of public trust in political figures.
The original Tercuman piece alleged that two villas on Unakitan's property, one built without authorization, were torn down, after which a plan for three new villas was submitted to the Uskudar Mayor's Office. According to the article, the plan received approval within roughly six weeks.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.