Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed lawsuits against Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, alleging slander and insult under Article 299 of Turkiye’s penal code, which criminalises insults against the president and carries a maximum sentence of four years.
Erdogan seeks 1 million Turkish lira ($30,000) in damages from each of the two opposition figures, whose remarks allegedly demeaned the president during a recent rally in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district. This event followed the arrest of Esenyurt’s opposition mayor over alleged connections to the banned Kurdish PKK militant group. Ozel and Imamoglu both criticised Erdogan’s handling of the arrest, accusing him of targeting opposition leaders for political gain.
Imamoglu, seen as Erdogan’s primary challenger, has faced legal battles before. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for allegedly insulting election officials during the 2019 mayoral election. Ozel, who recently took leadership of CHP, responded defiantly, accusing Erdogan of playing the victim while stifling opposition voices.
