Turkish FM Davutoğlu to donate opposition leader fine to Syrian orphans

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said the fine he will receive after winning lawsuits against the opposition leader will be donated to Syrian orphans.

Davutoğlu announced on his official Twitter account that he would donate the money to Syrian orphans living in Turkey and Syria after winning three lawsuits against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for “attacks against personal rights and law.”

“This could be the only support that Kılıçdaroğlu lends to those suffering in Syria,” Davutoğlu tweeted.
The fines imposed by the court for non-pecuniary damages amounted to a total of 11,500 Turkish Liras, Anadolu Agency reported on July 18.

The court ruled that Kılıçdaroğlu would be fined 5,000 liras for a speech delivered during a visit to daily Milliyet July 15, 2012, and 4,000 and 2,500 liras respectively for two other speeches he delivered at CHP parliamentary group meetings Oct. 9 and Oct. 16, 2012.

In July 2012, in an interview with daily Milliyet, Kılıçdaroğlu had mocked Davutoğlu for reportedly indicating that Russia should be isolated because of its foreign policy on Syria.

At the time, Kılıçdaroğlu had said mockingly that many countries who heard Davutoğlu’s reported words on Russia “must have laughed through their backsides.”