30.03.2026 17:50
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a lawsuit for 500,000 TL in damages against CHP Chairman Özgür Özel due to his statements at a rally held in Kuşadası, Aydın.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against CHP Chairman Özgür Özel due to his speech at the Kuşadası rally. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also filed a lawsuit for moral damages amounting to 500,000 Turkish Lira based on the same statements.
INVESTIGATION UNDER ARTICLE 299 OF THE TURKISH PENAL CODE
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has evaluated Özel's statements made during the rally held in Kuşadası, Aydın, under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which pertains to the crime of "insulting the President." In this context, an official investigation process has been initiated.
STATEMENT FROM HIS LAWYER
President Erdoğan's lawyer, Hüseyin Aydın, announced the lawsuit process through his social media account. Aydın stated that Özel used expressions targeting the President in his speech on March 29, 2026, in Kuşadası, and announced that they have filed a lawsuit for moral damages amounting to 500,000 TL at the Ankara Civil Court. Aydın also expressed that they have reported the statements in question to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for the crime of "insulting the President."
WHAT DID ÖZEL SAY?
Özgür Özel used harsh expressions against President Erdoğan in his speech at the Kuşadası rally, stating, "You could have passed as a Prime Minister, a President who has won. It would have been honorable to run again and lose, or to withdraw without running. However, instead, you chose to be a junta leader, to stage a coup, to lead a coup. You will live with the shame of what you have done throughout history; you will be remembered this way!"