A trial against Fatma Funda Esenç, whose video hurling insults to a staff member at Istanbul Airport in April 2019 went viral, concluded yesterday. An Istanbul court ordered her to be fined TL 1,740 for insulting someone but suspended the sentence.
Esenç was caught on video arguing with a female staff member of a ground services company at the airport after her flight from Istanbul to Bodrum was postponed.
She can be clearly heard swearing at the woman and ordering her to move and help her in an offensive manner.
As the video went viral on social media, Esenç faced public outrage with people condemning her "ugly" behavior.
"You are such an ugly person and should be ashamed. People will spit on your face wherever they see you," one angry user tweeted while another user wrote Esenç "represented a mindset that abhors the people in the service sector and loves to insult them.”
Prosecutors had sought prison terms of up to three years for the defendant on charges of insulting and inciting hatred. Esenç had claimed she was stressed and angry, saying that the airport staff mocked her.
Tuğçe Selvi, who was the subject of insults, told the court in yesterday’s hearing that she never mocked Esenç. Selvi burst into tears after the verdict was announced.
