Mahmut Karaduman
Encyclopedia
Mahmut Karaduman was a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 national and the plaintiff in a famous libel case. The Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 newspaper Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

wrote a series of thirty-two articles entitled The Heroin Trail, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

 Gold Medal for public service. Karaduman sued Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

over the following description:
The owner of the Karavan nightclub in Istanbul's Galatasaray Square, middle-aged Douman [Karaduman] divides his time between Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, where his brother handles base shipments, and villas in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. He specializes in smuggling by the Black Sea route. His lieutenant, a Turk named Gabi Kaiat, lives in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

 and handles transshipments on the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n end.


Bob Greene, Les Payne and Knut Royce were the Newsday journalists Karaduman sued. Although Karaduman was cleared of the drug charge in that there had been proven "substantial falsity" in the stories, there was no judgment against Newsday in that the story had not been grossly irresponsible.

Quotes about Karaduman

  • "Four jurors showed up, all of them woman, all black. I learned a lot that day. They all told me that they were sure that Karaduman had been involved with drugs. They had believed Arras, but a number of them already had come to that view of Karaduman as they observed his own testimony. 'We could tell,' one of them told me, 'that you were worried that we would believe Karaduman. But we know drug dealers in Harlem
    Harlem
    Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

    , and we knew he was one.'"
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