The Supreme Court has approved a prison sentence for a photographer who showed clients wedding albums without the couple's permission.
A precedent decision regarding photographers came from the Supreme Court.
A newlywed couple in Elazığ was agreed by the photographer to take wedding photos. The couple, after learning that their photos had been compiled into albums without their knowledge and used as examples for customers who came to their workplace, filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office.
CASE REGISTER
A lawsuit was filed against the photographer for “violation of privacy.”
Appearing before the judge, this photographer affirmed that he did not know what he did was a crime and asked to be acquitted.
The court acquitted the defendant on the grounds that “the wedding photos taken of the plaintiff in a wedding dress and groom's outfit cannot be considered images of their private life that they do not want to be seen or known by others.”
IMAGES ARE “PERSONAL DATA”
The 12th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which reviewed the record on appeal, decided that the photos were “personal data” and rejected the defendant's acquittal.
In the Supreme Court decision, it was stated that the defendant must be convicted of the crime of “unlawfully providing or obtaining data”.
He was tried again, he was sentenced to prison
Elazığ Criminal Court of First Instance No. 5, which held a retrial after the Supreme Court's decision, sentenced the defendant to one year and eight months in prison for “unlawfully providing or collecting data.”
The decision states that “wedding photos, which are personal data, were displayed to customers who came to the workplace without the consent of the complainant.”
SUPREME COURT TAKES POINT
After the defendant objected to the decision, the 12th Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of Appeal, which had the final say on the file, unanimously approved the local court's decision.
The Supreme Court in its decision stated that the proceedings during the trial were conducted in accordance with due process and law, and that the allegations and defenses were presented and discussed in a reasoned decision along with all the evidence gathered.
In addition, the decision also emphasized that there was nothing illegal in sentencing the defendant.
