25.02.2026 21:13
The Ankara Regional Court of Appeals, 25th Civil Chamber, has completed its review of the mutual moral compensation lawsuit filed between former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. The court rejected Kılıçdaroğlu's claim for 10 kuruş in moral compensation. However, it partially accepted Soylu's counterclaim and ruled for 10,000 lira in moral compensation.
The Ankara Regional Court of Appeals' 25th Civil Chamber sentenced former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu to pay 10,000 lira in compensation to former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu due to his statement describing Kılıçdaroğlu as "worth 5 kuruş."
THE PROCESS STARTED WITH TWO "5 KURUŞ" LAWSUITS
The legal process began after Soylu's social media post on May 13, 2021, and his statements during a television program he attended on May 19, 2021. Kılıçdaroğlu claimed that the statements in question violated his personal rights and demanded a total of 10 kuruş in moral compensation, with 5 kuruş for each statement. Kılıçdaroğlu also stated in a press release regarding the issue, "We filed a lawsuit for 5 kuruş against a 5 kuruş man."
Süleyman Soylu argued that his words should be considered within the scope of political criticism. However, he also stated that Kılıçdaroğlu's statements constituted an attack on personal rights and filed a counter lawsuit for 20,000 TL.
The Ankara 29th Civil Court of First Instance evaluated the parties' statements within the context of political debate and rejected both Kılıçdaroğlu's lawsuit and Soylu's counter lawsuit.
KILIÇDAROĞLU'S LAWSUIT WAS REJECTED, SOYLU WAS FOUND RIGHT
The Regional Court of Appeals, which re-examined the case, ruled that while Soylu's statements were harsh and hurtful, they remained within the limits of freedom of expression in the context of political debate. Therefore, Kılıçdaroğlu's lawsuit for 10 kuruş was rejected on its merits.
However, the court found that some statements made by Kılıçdaroğlu after the lawsuit exceeded the limits of criticism and constituted an attack on Soylu's personal rights. In this context, it was decided that the 10,000 lira moral compensation, along with the legal interest accruing from May 28, 2021, would be collected from Kılıçdaroğlu and paid to Soylu.