Turkey’s ruling AKP sues opposition MP Ahmet Şık for 100,000 liras
Turkey’s ruling AKP has sued opposition TİP lawmaker Ahmet Şık for 100,000 liras for referring to the party as “a crime organization” and envisaging that it will be shut down.
Duvar English
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has filed a lawsuit against Workers’ Party (TİP) lawmaker Ahmet Şık, demanding 100,000 liras in compensation over his comments that the “AKP is a crime organization and will be shut down.”
The AKP’s lawyers said in their petition that Şık’s remarks were “an attack against the party’s rights and respectability” and that the AKP was conducting its activities in line with law and regulations.
They argued that Şık’s comments exceeded freedom of expression and could not be considered as mere criticism. “The defendant’s (Şık) purpose is to accuse our client party of engaging in unlawful activities and thereby to damage our client party’s reputation,” they wrote.
Earlier this week, Şık held an interview with journalist Ruşen Çakır from Medyascope, referring to the AKP as “a crime organization masquerading as a political party.”
“We are talking about a structure whose members will stand trial over being a crime organization (referring to the AKP). Let those who are not involved in crime and are clean stay in parliament. But the AKP will be shut down because of this! If this period is over, the AKP will not be seen as a political party. The AKP will be shut down for being a crime organization,” Şık said.