A Turkish court accepted an indictment from a prosecutor requesting a jail term of between two and five years for two Bloomberg reporters and 36 other people upon a request from the nation’s banking regulator, Bloomberg News reported.
The charges relate to an August 2018 Bloomberg story about how Turkish authorities and banks were responding to the biggest currency shock in the country since 2001.
Kerim Karakaya and Fercan Yalinkilic, the reporters, are accused of trying to undermine Turkey’s economic stability. The charges carry a potential jail sentence of two to five years. The 36 other defendants listed in the indictment are charged for social media comments on the story, or comments deemed critical of Turkey’s economy and banks.
Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said: “We condemn the indictment issued against our reporters, who have reported fairly and accurately on newsworthy events.
We fully stand by them and will support them throughout this ordeal.” The indictment was accepted by a criminal court in Istanbul, which will begin hearing the case on Sept. 20.