President Erdoğan sues main opposition CHP MP Özgür Özel for calling him a 'dictator'

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sued main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Group Deputy Chairman Özgür Özel for emotional damages, as the latter called the president a "dictator." The indictment against Özel said that he has support from terrorist entities and was carrying out propaganda by saying that the president is a dictator.

Monday December 21 2020 04:24 pm

Duvar English

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sued main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Group Deputy Chairman Özgür Özel for calling him a dictator on Dec. 17, demanding 250,000 Turkish Liras as compensation.

Özel had compared Erdoğan to Spanish dictator Francesco Franco after he referred to his political opposition as a 'fifth branch' of the government.

The indictment into Özel claimed that he insulted the president and violated his personal rights with the statement and that he did so with the support of both the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the believed perpetrator of the 2016 coup attempt, Fethullah Gülen, both considered terrorist entities by Ankara.

"The label 'dictator' that the defendant and his party have tried to attach to the president is a reflection of the propaganda of authoritarianism," the indictment noted.

Özel and the main opposition were accused of creating misguided perceptions of the president as being an authoritarian leader.