Özel to pay 800,000 liras to Erdoğan in compensation: Lawyer

ANKARA

New Party Chairman Özgür Özel (AA Photo)

A Turkish court has ordered the emerging main opposition New Party Chairman Özgür Özel to pay a total of 800,000 Turkish Liras (nearly $16,500) in compensation for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a statement by the latter’s lawyer.

Erdoğan’s lawyer, Hüseyin Aydın, in a statement on Sept. 10, said that an Ankara court ordered Özel to pay compensation to the president over his allegations and insults.

The court, at a hearing on Sept. 10, ruled that Özel violated Erdoğan’s personal rights during speeches at three separate rallies in August 2025, ordering him to pay a total of 800,000 liras in compensation, Aydın stated.

Özel organized many protest rallies, particularly following the detention and arrest of the Istanbul Mayor and the opposition’s presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu in March 2025, accusing President Erdoğan of using the judiciary for political purposes.