09.05.2025 18:02
After the public revelation of the 'Ramadan greeting' email exchange within the upper management of Zorlu Holding, former Zorlu Holding CEO Cem Köksal, who was detained and resigned from his position, was acquitted in the first hearing of the case in which he was prosecuted on charges of 'systematically preventing the exercise of freedom of belief, thought, and opinion' with a potential prison sentence of up to 5 years and 3 months.
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Former CEO of Zorlu Holding, Cem Köksal, responded to an email sent by Vestel CEO Ergün Güler on Friday, February 28, which contained Ramadan greetings for the entire company, stating that there was no such celebration in the company's list of celebration days and requested that such incidents not happen again.
Regarding the matter, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation against Köksal ex officio. The first hearing, in which Cem Köksal is being tried for a prison sentence of 1 year and 3 months to 5 years and 3 months, was held today at the 24th Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The hearing was attended by former CEO of Zorlu Holding, Cem Köksal, the sender of the email, Ergün Güler, and lawyers.
"THE ISSUE IS COMPLETELY RELATED TO INTERNAL COMMUNICATION" During the hearing, the defendant Köksal, who is not in custody, stated that he has a monthly income of 500,000 lira and used the following expressions: "My statements at the police and the prosecutor's office are valid. I did not engage in any act that would hinder anyone's freedom of religion and conscience. The issue is completely related to internal communication. I joined the Zorlu Group 28 years ago, I have held various positions, and I know the corporate functioning well. Ergün Güler is also my close friend during the time we worked within the holding. Over the years, we have served in the same group, and he even referred to me as his master. We had no animosity. On the evening of the incident, while sitting, I saw Mr. Ergün's email. The email message was sent from a corporate email address. The email was one that did not comply with corporate procedures. I checked whether we were celebrating Ramadan corporately and learned that we were not. I wanted to warn Mr. Ergün by sending the message you see, as it did not comply with corporate communication principles. However, I accidentally clicked on the reply all option and sent it to everyone. After receiving a few feedbacks, I realized that the message had been sent to a large group. I reported the incident to an authorized person to retract the message, and we started working to retract it.
"I DO NOT INTERFERE WITH ANYONE'S BELIEFS" We prepare a list of holidays for which we will hold corporate celebrations every year. I would like to state that the incident occurred not due to the Ramadan celebration but because it did not comply with corporate procedures. I did not commit the crime attributed to me. I do not interfere with anyone's beliefs. If there had been another email that did not comply with the procedure, I would have warned in the same way."
"I AM NOT THE COMPLAINANT" Ergün Güler, in his statement at the court, said, "I worked with Mr. Cem for many years. There was never a situation of exerting pressure or domination between us. We had a brotherly relationship. Cem Köksal has never had an attitude that restricts my or anyone else's freedom of belief or thought. I am not a complainant," he stated.
DECISION OF ACQUITTAL The prosecution requested that Cem Köksal be sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year and 3 months to 5 years and 3 months for the crime of 'preventing the use of freedom of belief, thought, and opinion in a chain manner.' The request for the removal of judicial control decisions against the defendant was also made. The court decided to acquit Köksal due to the absence of criminal intent.
WHAT HAPPENED? Former CEO of Zorlu Holding, Cem Köksal, sent a stern email in response to an email sent by Vestel CEO Ergün Güler on Friday, February 28, which contained Ramadan greetings for the entire company, stating that there was no such celebration in the company's list of celebration days and requested that such incidents not happen again.
After the email was leaked to the press, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation against Köksal ex officio. Following the investigation, the indictment against Köksal was completed. In his statement in the indictment, Cem Köksal stated that he did not accept the charges against him, that he had been serving as CEO for about 7 months within Zorlu Holding, and that he had prepared the email only to send it to Vestel CEO Ergün Güler, but due to an error, he had marked the 'Reply All' option, causing the email to be sent to all recipients in Ergün Güler's email.
After realizing that the email had gone to all recipients, he reached out to the head of the company's information technology department and requested the email to be retracted, but by the time the procedures were completed, the email had reached many people, and later it was leaked from the company's internal sources to social media. He stated that his intention in sending the email was not to interfere with beliefs and thoughts. The indictment requested that Cem Köksal be sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year and 3 months to 5 years and 3 months for the crime of 'preventing the use of freedom of belief, thought, and opinion in a chain manner.'
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