Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and İstanbul’s powerful mayor for alleged slander in a forceful legal blow against his political rivals.
Filed on Friday, the two separate lawsuits targeted Özgür Özel, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, also a top party official.
The lawsuit raises the prospect that one or both of them could be prosecuted for insulting the president under article 299 of the penal code, which carries a maximum four-year prison term.
The charge has been widely used to silence Erdoğan’s political rivals, as well as journalists, human rights defenders and members of the public.
Court documents cited by Anadolu accused Özel of “publicly insulting the president” and “clearly committing a crime against the reputation and honor of the office of the presidency”.
The second alleged that İmamoğlu had made “unfounded accusations including slander, that violated Erdoğan’s rights” and had “acted with the aim of humiliating the president in front of the public”.
Each lawsuit claims one million Turkish lira ($30,000) in damages from the accused.
‘Makes himself the victim’
The legal action centers on remarks the pair allegedly made on Thursday at a demonstration in the Istanbul district of Esenyurt after its opposition mayor was arrested for alleged links to the banned Kurdish PKK militant group.
The move against two top opposition figures comes as Turkey’s strongman is widely believed to be seeking ways to amend the constitution so he can run again in the 2028 presidential race.
It was not immediately clear which remarks prompted the legal action but Ozer, who took over as CHP leader just a year ago, quickly hit back.
Erdoğan “pretends to have been insulted without any insult being made, and tries to make himself the victim… as if it was not he who insulted and victimized Esenyurt” by arresting its mayor, he told reporters.
Asked whether he thought the authorities would try and topple İmamoğlu as they did with the mayor of Esenyurt, Özel said it was unclear.
But if they did, the opposition would put up a fight: “We will challenge them,” he vowed.
The ‘idiot’ trial
İmamoğlu, who was elected Istanbul mayor in 2019, is often portrayed as Erdoğan’s biggest political rival and is widely expected to run in the 2028 presidential race.
He is seen as one of Turkey’s most popular politicians.
Two years ago, İmamoğlu was sued for defamation after describing Istanbul election officials as “idiots” during the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election.
A court found him guilty of insulting a civil servant and sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in jail, barring him from politics for the duration of the sentence and prompting an international outcry.
Although İmamoğlu appealed, the lawsuit meant it was too risky for him to contest the 2023 presidential election.
But he has continued to serve as mayor while the appeal court mulls its decision.
At the time, Erdoğan insisted he had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
The 70-year-old Turkish leader launched his own political career back in the 1990s by being elected as mayor of İstanbul.
© Agence France-Presse