Erdoğan sues Kılıçdaroğlu once more for 500,000 TL over FETÖ claims

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has once again sued main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, demanding 500,000 Turkish Liras in compensation after Kılıçdaroğlu accused the president of having links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ).

Erdoğan’s lawyer Hüseyin Aydın has filed a complaint at the Ankara Civil Court, stating that Kılıçdaroğlu’s April 3 speech at parliament included “invective expressions that aim to assault and violate personal rights.”

The legal action came after Kılıçdaroğlu accused Erdoğan of being “the prominent name in the political links of FETÖ” at the CHP’s weekly parliamentary group meeting on April 3.

“The number one actor of the political leg is the individual who occupies the presidential chair at the palace. The name of that individual is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” he said.

The CHP leader had also voiced his accusations in the previous week’s parliamentary meeting, which also prompted a 250,000 lira criminal complaint from the president’s legal team.

“They have filed a complaint because I said this. It was 250,000 liras. I also filed a complaint about him for insult but I demanded only 5 liras. Because that is all he is worth,” Kılıçdaroğlu said on April 3.

In his April 5 complaint, Aydın said the presidential office has “already refuted the claims” and the CHP leader “insists on making the same accusations.”

“Statements have been made about these accusations on different occasions. We have explained that these claims are unjust and without basis, in a manner that even an individual with a mediocre intelligence would be able to understand. But [Kılıçdaroğlu] prefers to live in the comfort of lies,” he stated.

Erdoğan has sued Kılıçdaroğlu for non-pecuniary compensation on several occasions in recent years over various comments.