Istanbul municipal employee sues Erdoğan and Soylu over terror accusations

Duvar English 

One of the employees of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, which is run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Nuri Başkapan is suing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu over their accusations of terror connections of the municipality staff.

The Interior Ministry on Dec. 26 said that an investigation was launched into the claims that the Istanbul Municipality employed people linked to "terrorist organizations." They claimed that over 550 municipality personnel are suspected of having links to "terrorist groups," including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and the Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).

Over the investigation, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu slammed Soylu's claims and said that the minister wasn't mentally well and called him to resign. He asked “Am I an intelligence organization? Am I the judiciary?" On the other hand, far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called for the removal of İmamoğlu if he is found guilty.

In his petition to prosecutors, Nuri Başkapan said Erdoğan and Soylu “accused me and my municipality of baseless allegations and made very humiliating insults before the public."

"It is clear that my personal and corporate rights have been attacked. We suffered psychological shock due to such unfounded allegations and slanders we were exposed to,” Başkapan said, according to reporting by journalist Barış Pehlivan from daily Cumhuriyet.

The municipality employee emphasized that both Erdoğan and Soylu committed crimes and demanded their prosecution. He also demanded a symbolic compensation of 3 kuruş (100 kuruş make up one lira).