Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday sued the main opposition leader and Istanbul’s powerful mayor for alleged slander in a forceful legal blow against his political rivals.
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.
The lawsuit raises the prospect that one or both of them could be prosecuted for insulting the president under article 299 of the penal code, which carries a maximum four-year prison term.
The charge has been widely used to silence Erdogan’s political rivals, as well as journalists, human rights defenders and members of the public.
Court documents cited by Anadolou accused Ozel of “publicly insulting the president” and “clearly committing a crime against the reputation and honour of the office of the presidency”.
The second alleged that 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 after its opposition mayor was arrested for alleged links to the banned Kurdish PKK militant group.
The move against two top opposition figures comes as Turkey’s strongman is widely believed to be seeking ways to amend the constitution so he can run again in the 2028 presidential race.
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.
Asked whether he thought the authorities would try and topple Imamoglu as they did with the mayor of Esenyurt, Ozel said it was unclear.
But if they did, the opposition would put up a fight: “We will challenge them,” he vowed.
Imamoglu, who was elected Istanbul mayor in 2019, is often portrayed as Erdogan’s biggest political rival and is widely expected to run in the 2028 presidential race.
He is seen as one of Turkey’s most popular politicians.
Two years ago, Imamoglu was sued for defamation after describing Istanbul election officials as “idiots” during the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election.
A court found him guilty of insulting a civil servant and sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in jail, barring him from politics for the duration of the sentence and prompting an international outcry.
Although Imamoglu appealed, the lawsuit meant it was too risky for him to contest the 2023 presidential election.
But he has continued to serve as mayor while the appeal court mulls its decision.
At the time, Erdogan insisted he had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
The 70-year-old Turkish leader launched his own political career back in the 1990s by being elected as mayor of Istanbul.
