Phone call of Doğan CFO on Web sites
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 26, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Many issues on the country’s agenda today, from the Ergenekon investigation to minor municipal fraud, from political initiatives to celebrities, are accompanied by an illegally wiretapped voice record and are creating a social phobia of eavesdropping.
Though it’s illegal and subject to three years imprisonment, it seems there is no end to the wiretapping records that have been leaked to some Web sites. The wiretapping and its leakage to certain Web sites of a mobile phone conversation between Soner Gedik, deputy chairman of the Doğan Media Group, and Mehmet Akif Ulusoy, commissioner of the Revenue Administration, constitute a grave example of this crime, daily Milliyet reported yesterday.
The timing of the leak is also very important as it came days after the Finance Ministry issued a 826 million lira levy against the DMG due to alleged tax evasion, one of the largest penalties set against a media institution.
According to Milliyet, Finance Minister Kemal Unakıtan was aware of the phone call and he was the one who advised Gedik to call Ulusoy. The phone call took place a month ago, before the ministry inspectors concluded their reports in February.
Prosecutors should take a step
According to Turkish Penal Code, wiretapping a private conversation or phone call is subject to punishment but little can be done to stop it because prosecutors can only start a judicial process if the offended people complain about it.
"The Constitution identifies privacy of communication and private life, and our penal code underlines that those who violate these principles will be punished. The prosecutors should follow such incidents with determination when aggrieved persons do apply," Professor Ergun Özbudun told the daily Milliyet. "(Illegal eavesdropping) is ethically and legally unacceptable. The problem is not what they talk about," he said.
Professor Yüksel Ersoy, on the other hand, touched on the social effects of wiretapping. "In the end, these sort of acts causes paranoia in society," he said. "Wiretapping and recording conversations without the authorization of a court is against the law."
According to article 132 of the Penal Code, those who violate people’s privacy of communication could be faced with imprisonment for up to three years.
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, who is also a former justice minister, hinted that the penalty given to those who violate privacy of communication could be increased, if necessary, in an interview with the Milliyet’s prominent columnist Hasan Pulur. "The information gathered as a result of an illegal wiretap cannot be considered as evidence against anybody. These are not evidence? What are they? A political tool, or could be used as a source of gossipÉ" he said.
The timing of the leak is also very important as it came days after the Finance Ministry issued a 826 million lira levy against the DMG due to alleged tax evasion, one of the largest penalties set against a media institution.
According to Milliyet, Finance Minister Kemal Unakıtan was aware of the phone call and he was the one who advised Gedik to call Ulusoy. The phone call took place a month ago, before the ministry inspectors concluded their reports in February.
Prosecutors should take a step
According to Turkish Penal Code, wiretapping a private conversation or phone call is subject to punishment but little can be done to stop it because prosecutors can only start a judicial process if the offended people complain about it.
"The Constitution identifies privacy of communication and private life, and our penal code underlines that those who violate these principles will be punished. The prosecutors should follow such incidents with determination when aggrieved persons do apply," Professor Ergun Özbudun told the daily Milliyet. "(Illegal eavesdropping) is ethically and legally unacceptable. The problem is not what they talk about," he said.
Professor Yüksel Ersoy, on the other hand, touched on the social effects of wiretapping. "In the end, these sort of acts causes paranoia in society," he said. "Wiretapping and recording conversations without the authorization of a court is against the law."
According to article 132 of the Penal Code, those who violate people’s privacy of communication could be faced with imprisonment for up to three years.
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, who is also a former justice minister, hinted that the penalty given to those who violate privacy of communication could be increased, if necessary, in an interview with the Milliyet’s prominent columnist Hasan Pulur. "The information gathered as a result of an illegal wiretap cannot be considered as evidence against anybody. These are not evidence? What are they? A political tool, or could be used as a source of gossipÉ" he said.