Turkey's top cellphone operator, Turkcell, has filed a $100 million defamation suit against MTN for releasing “false statements” that have caused “irreparable harm” to its reputation.
The claims of libel form part of a broader $4.2 billion lawsuit filed in a US court by the Istanbul-based operator last month, in which it accuses MTN of shady dealings in its 2004 acquisition of a GSM licence that was originally awarded to Turkcell.
The court application also accuses MTN of what would amount to human rights violations, by suggesting the MTN Group may have undertaken to provide access to its equipment by agreeing to facilitate the installation of “eavesdropping technology” on its devices in Iran.
In response to the accusations, MTN hauled Turkcell over the coals, saying the operator was threatening to abuse the US legal system in order to “extort money from MTN” and that it had refused to cooperate with the independent investigation MTN set up, headed by British Supreme Court judge Lord Hoffmann.
MTN's response was published in the form of a press release on 12 March, which Turkcell says “knowingly and intentionally” accused it of extortion and refusal to co-operate with the aforementioned investigation - claims that “MTN knew to be false”.
Turkcell says MTN's press release, which was re-published via various media channels, quickly proliferated worldwide. “Social media outlets reprinted the extortion falsehood. Twitter feeds show within two days of the press release, the claim of extortion was republished over 70 times worldwide.”
According to US defamation law, says Turkcell, MTN's statements are tantamount to defamation per sein that “they are false criminal charges and directly attack Turkcell's reputation for ethical business practices and honesty”.
According to US law, statements classified as defamation per se are presumed and do not have to be proven. Regardless, says Turkcell, the company “suffered, and continues to suffer, irreparable harm to its reputation as a result of MTN's defamatory statements in an amount to be proven at trial, but no less than $100 million.”
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