Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been ordered by a Turkish court to pay TL 95,000 ($19,500) in non-pecuniary damages for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is also chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The Ankara 6th Civil Court of First Instance in three back-to-back hearings on Friday ordered Kılıçdaroğlu pay the damages in a lawsuit that accused him of violating Erdoğan’s personal rights.
In June, Kılıçdaroğlu also lost two other lawsuits in cases related to the Turkish president and was ordered to pay TL 339,000 ($70,000) in damages to Erdoğan and his relatives.
A Turkish court also ordered CHP deputy chair and party spokesperson Bülent Tezcan to pay non-pecuniary damages in the amount of TL 30,000 ($6,200) for calling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a “fascist dictator.”
Erdoğan’s lawyer, Hüseyin Aydın, announced the court’s verdict on Twitter. “In the lawsuit for non-pecuniary damages we filed, the court ruled for a fine of TL 30,000. Those who violate our president’s personal rights will be held accountable, no matter their status,” Aydın tweeted on Thursday.
