Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and powerful mayor of Istanbul over allegedly defamatory comments made at a protest rally the day before, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Filed Friday, the two separate lawsuits targeted Ozgur Ozel, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, also a senior party official.
One of them accused Ozel of “publicly insulting the president” and “clearly committing a crime against the reputation and honor of the presidency.”
The second lawsuit alleged that Imamoglu made “unfounded accusations, including slander, that violated Erdogan's rights” and “acted with the aim of humiliating the president in front of the public.”
Each suit sought 1 million Turkish liras ($30,000) in damages from the accused.
The lawsuit focuses on comments the two men allegedly made Thursday during a protest in Istanbul's Esenyurt neighborhood, a day after police arrested its opposition mayor for alleged ties to the banned Kurdish militant group of the PKK.
It's unclear exactly what remarks prompted the lawsuit, but Ozel, who took over as CHP leader just a year ago, quickly fired back.
Erdogan “pretends to have been insulted without any insult being made, and tries to make himself a victim… as if it was not he who had insulted and victimized Esenyurt” by arresting its mayor, a- he told journalists.
Imamoglu, who was elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019, is often touted as Erdogan's biggest political rival and is widely expected to run in the 2028 presidential election. He is considered one of the most popular politicians in Turkey.
Two years ago, Imamoglu was sued for defamation after calling Istanbul election officials “idiots” during the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election.
A court found him guilty, sentenced him to nearly three years in prison and banned him from politics for the duration of his sentence, sparking an international outcry.
Imamoglu appealed while continuing to serve as mayor.
At the time, Erdogan insisted the matter had nothing to do with him.
The 70-year-old Turkish leader launched his own political career in the 1990s when he was elected mayor of Istanbul.
