Former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was summoned for questioning at the Ankara Courthouse on Monday on suspicion of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in remarks made five years ago.
Davutoğlu arrived at the courthouse with Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) leader Ali Babacan and Felicity Party (SP) chairman Mahmut Arıkan.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office opened the investigation on Thursday after a video of the remarks resurfaced on social media.
The office said it acted without a complaint after examining posts that it believed contained insults of the president.
Davutoğlu is under investigation under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The offense carries a prison sentence of one to four years.
The remarks came from an exchange with residents in the Genç district of the eastern province of Bingöl in September 2021.
Davutoğlu said he would not have lost the prime minister’s office if he had kept quiet.
He added that he could have “added billions” to his wealth like the prime minister who followed him.
Davutoğlu accused ministers who served after him of taking illicit money and enriching the people around them.
He also said an unnamed person had made his son-in-law a minister, enriched relatives and “handed Turkey over to five contractors.”
Davutoğlu did not name Erdoğan, but the son-in-law reference appeared to point to Berat Albayrak, who is married to Erdoğan’s daughter Esra.
Albayrak served as energy minister and later as finance minister.
The five contractors appeared to refer to Cengiz Holding, Limak Holding, Kalyon Holding, Kolin Holding and Makyol.
Opposition politicians accuse the government of favoring the companies in state contracts.
Davutoğlu’s lawyer Hasan Seymen said they learned about the investigation from news reports instead of the authorities.
Seymen said Davutoğlu would answer the allegations and cooperate with the investigation.
The case prompted responses from several opposition leaders.
Main opposition New Party leader Özgür Özel called Davutoğlu before the questioning and expressed support and solidarity.
Özel founded the New Party with 90 other lawmakers in July after a court removed him as chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Babacan called the investigation an attack on freedom of expression and democratic politics.
Arıkan said political criticism should be answered through politics, not the courts. He accused the government of using the judiciary to silence opponents.
The video resurfaced during a dispute over the wealth of Binali Yıldırım, who succeeded Davutoğlu as prime minister in 2016.
Journalist Timur Soykan cited claims in Ankara that Yıldırım had assets worth about €480 million and had faced pressure to transfer companies and return money from abroad.
No documents or official findings have confirmed those claims.
Davutoğlu served as foreign minister before becoming prime minister and chairman of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2014.
He resigned from both posts in May 2016 after disputes with Erdoğan and left the AKP in 2019.
Davutoğlu founded the Future Party later that year but withdrew from party politics in July of this year.
The party voted to dissolve itself on August 22.
Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code has been used against journalists, politicians, artists and social media users over criticism of Erdoğan.
Rights groups say the law is used to punish speech protected under freedom of expression.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
