Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed a defamation lawsuit and criminal complaint against opposition leader Özgür Özel based on remarks made during a weekend party meeting, Turkish Minute reported, citing Özel’s lawyer.
Erdoğan is seeking 500,000 Turkish lira (about $12,500) in non-pecuniary damages.
What prompted Erdoğan to file the lawsuit and the criminal complaint against Özel was the CHP leader’s remarks following the detention of three CHP mayors on Saturday in an expanding crackdown on his party.
Zeydan Karalar, the CHP mayor of Adana, Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere were detained on Saturday as part of two separate corruption investigations. Böcek was arrested the following day.
Özel convened an emergency meeting of the party’s Central Executive Board (MYK) in Ankara following the detentions. In a strongly worded speech following the meeting, he criticized the detentions and the ongoing government crackdown on his party, which also led to the arrest of İstanbul mayor and CHP presidential candidate for the next presidential election Ekrem İmamoğlu in March.
In a post on X, lawyer Hüseyin Aydın said the lawsuit and the criminal complaint stem from Özel’s speech following the CHP MYK meeting.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had already launched a separate criminal investigation into Özel, citing possible charges of “insulting the president,” “inciting to commit crime” and “insulting and threatening public officials.”
In his fiery speech on Saturday, Özel directly challenged Erdoğan to call early elections, proposing to hold elections on November 2. “You say your party is still in the lead, then let’s see it at the ballot box,” he said. “Come on, don’t be afraid.”
Although the next general election is scheduled for 2028, analysts say growing economic dissatisfaction and ongoing political turmoil including the sweeping crackdown on opposition figures are fueling speculation about the possibility of snap elections.
“We won’t let you sit there with just 29 percent of the vote. Don’t get comfortable. Some of your own people are undermining you. Never forget, there’s something bigger than you: the people,” Özel told Erdoğan.
Recent public surveys show Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) trailing behind the CHP, which dealt a heavy blow to the AKP in last year’s local elections by winning in major provinces.
Özel criticized Erdoğan for lacking democratic accountability and mocked suggestions that he should “sit quietly” in Ankara rather than holding rallies in support of the jailed party officials and mayors as he has been doing since İmamoğlu’s arrest.
The CHP held the latest of its large rallies in İstanbul last week, drawing at least 10,000 participants. The rally marked the 100th day since the detention of İmamoğlu. Turkish police detained 42 people during the large demonstration, with 13 of them later arrested.
“I’d rather go to jail and watch you leave office in the next election,” he said. He warned that Erdoğan’s attempts to silence dissent would fail: “There’s only one way to shut me up, and I’m not saying it, so my parents don’t worry. But go ahead and try,” Özel said, implying that he will only go silent if he is killed.
Rejecting accusations that he was inciting unrest by holding rallies, Özel insisted that he was organizing legal rallies, not calling for violence. Özel said the people taking to the streets now are just a small portion of their supporters, adding that he alone would decide when to call for mass demonstrations. “You’re afraid of the rallies we’re holding now. Wait until I truly call people to the streets.”
“We’re not threatening coups,” he said, “but if anyone tries to block the democratic process, the people will bring back the ballot box with their own hands.”
The AKP government claims the arrests targeting the CHP mayors and officials are based on legal grounds, while critics accuse Erdoğan of using the judiciary to stifle dissent.
In November Erdoğan filed another complaint against Özel for “publicly insulting the president” and “committing a crime against the reputation and honor of the office of the presidency.”
Efforts are also under way to lift Özel’s parliamentary immunity so he can face prison in another case of allegedly “insulting a public official.”
