Erdogan sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for slander

ISTANBUL: Turkiye´s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and Istanbul´s powerful mayor for allegedly slanderous remarks at a protest rally the day earlier, Anadolou news agency reported.

Filed on Friday, the two separate lawsuits targeted Ozgur Ozel, head of the Republican People´s Party (CHP), and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, also a top party official. One accused Ozel of “publicly insulting the president” and “clearly committing a crime against the reputation and honour of the office of the presidency”.

And the second alleged Imamoglu had made “unfounded accusations including slander, that violated Erdogan´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. The legal action centres on remarks the pair allegedly made on Thursday at a demonstration in the Istanbul district of Esenyurt a day after police arrested its opposition mayor for alleged links to the banned Kurdish PKK militant group.

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. Erdogan “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 victimised Esenyurt” by arresting its mayor, he told reporters. Imamoglu, who was elected as Istanbul mayor in 2019, is often portrayed as Erdogan´s biggest political rival and is widely expected to run in the 2028 presidential race.