Turkish media mogul Dogan summoned to court over fuel smuggling (updated)

Hurriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacilik

01/03/2017 15:50

(Adds background, details ) 
    ANKARA, March 1 (Reuters) - The founder of Turkish 
conglomerate Dogan Holding  DOHOL.IS  was summoned on Wednesday 
to appear in court over fuel smuggling accusations, a day after 
Turkey's president criticised its Hurriyet newspaper for a story 
suggesting discord between government and the army. 
    Aydin Dogan, 80, who ran the media-to-energy conglomerate 
until 2010 and is now honorary chairman, is a prominent figure 
in Turkey's secular establishment and has long had strained ties 
with President Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Islamist-rooted AK 
Party. 
    His group faces charges it ran a fuel-smuggling ring a 
decade ago and Dogan and Isbank's  ISCTR.IS  Ersin Ozince, 64, 
face up to 24-1/2 years in prison on charges of setting up a 
criminal gang, smuggling and fraud.  
    This is the first time, however, that Dogan has been 
summoned to court in the case, rather than being represented by 
his lawyer. Dogan and Ozince have denied any wrongdoing. 
    The Istanbul court ordered that Dogan attend the next 
hearing in the case where 47 defendants are being tried, 
state-run Anadolu Agency said.  
    The group's newspaper Hurriyet  HURGZ.IS  has come under 
fire for a Feb. 25 story saying the government had not sought 
the opinion of the army before lifting a ban on women wearing 
the headscarf - a symbol of Islamic piety - in the military.  
     
    SENSITIVITY AFTER COUP 
    The headline was seen as implying discord between the army 
and government - a matter of some sensitivity after a failed 
coup attempt last July by rogue officers - and was criticised by 
Erdogan on Tuesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1GD4UP 
    His criticism sent shares in Hurriyet and Dogan Holding 
tumbling and they fell again on Wednesday with Dogan Holding 
down 4.2 percent and Hurriyet 1.4 percent lower.  
   The court case covers the 2001-2008 period when Dogan Holding 
and Isbank owned stakes in Petrol Ofisi, Turkey's biggest chain 
of gas stations, now operated by Austria's OMV  OMVV.VI . The 
retailer is accused of avoiding customs taxes. 
    Erdogan has repeatedly accused Dogan Holding of bias against 
the government, which the media organisation denies. 
   In 2009, Dogan Media was fined $2.5 billion for unpaid taxes, 
in what government opponents saw as an attempt to crush media 
criticism of Erdogan. Following the tax bill, founder Dogan was 
forced to sell the group's Milliyet and Vatan newspapers, the 
Star TV channel and other holdings. 
 
 (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Additional reporting by Tuvan 
Gumrukcu; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Susan Fenton) 
 ((ece.toksabay@tr.com; +90 312 2927022; Reuters Messaging: 
ece.toksabay.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: TURKEY MEDIA/