Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed a criminal complaint and lawsuit against the country’s main opposition leader, who accused him of leading a “junta” in the country, the president’s lawyer announced.
“A criminal complaint was filed at the chief public prosecutor’s office in Ankara for insulting the president” targeting Özgür Özel, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Erdoğan’s lawyer, Hüseyin Aydın, announced on X on Tuesday.
Speaking at a party congress where he was re-elected as the CHP leader on Sunday, Özel labeled Erdoğan’s government as “a junta” and claimed it “got permission from across the ocean” for the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
“Tell us to our faces — did you get permission from the US for the political coup you are trying to stage against your rival?” he asked Erdoğan.
The government denied his accusation, claiming that Turkey’s judicial authorities act independently.
İmamoğlu, widely viewed as Erdoğan’s strongest political opponent, was arrested on corruption charges on March 23 that many see as politically motivated. His detention has sparked the largest protests in Turkey since 2013.
Özel is accused of insulting the president, an offense frequently alleged in Turkey, sometimes against ordinary internet users.
Erdoğan also seeks non-pecuniary damages from Özel in the amount of TL 500,000 ($13,100)
The Turkish president frequently sues opposition politicians and critics for defamation, with courts typically ruling in his favor. Turkey’s judiciary has faced accusations of political influence, particularly since a failed coup in 2016, when thousands of judges and prosecutors were dismissed in a purge that the government justified as part of an anti-coup effort.