Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a 500,000 lira ($11,600) defamation lawsuit against the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party after he alleged that the president was being threatened by US President Donald Trump over his personal assets, Turkish Minute reported.
Erdoğan’s lawyer, Hüseyin Aydın, said the lawsuit was filed with an Ankara civil court due to comments made by Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel at a rally in İstanbul’s Beykoz district on Wednesday.
A criminal complaint was also submitted to prosecutors on accusations of insulting the president, Aydın said in a statement on X.
Özel claimed at the rally that Erdoğan was acting out of fear for his personal future rather than in Turkey’s national interest and alleged that Trump was exerting pressure on the president through threats related to his wealth.
He said Erdoğan was seeking legitimacy abroad instead of from voters at home, arguing that his relationship with Trump posed a risk to Turkey.
Erdoğan’s relationship with Trump has long been a matter of controversy, marked by close personal communication but repeated diplomatic crises.
During Trump’s first term in office, Ankara was removed from the F-35 fighter jet program and hit with US sanctions after purchasing Russia’s S-400 missile defense system.
While Erdoğan and Trump have continued direct engagement since Trump’s return to office in January 2025, key disputes remain unresolved, including sanctions, defense cooperation and Turkey’s role in regional conflicts.
Critics argue that the personalized nature of their relationship, described recently as a “bromance” and “a great thing” by US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, has weakened institutional diplomacy and increased political risk for Turkey.
Özel described Erdoğan as an increasingly authoritarian leader and said political legitimacy could not be derived from foreign leaders or their families but only through democratic elections.
“To Erdoğan I say this: You will not gain legitimacy from Trump Jr. or from Trump himself; you will gain it from Beykoz,” he said.
Özel was referring to other remarks from Barrack, who said in September that Trump aims to give Erdoğan the “legitimacy” he needs, which caused widespread controversy in Turkey.
Barrack argued that Turkey, despite being a critical NATO ally and one of the world’s largest buyers of American fighter jets, has been sidelined by the West, particularly Europe, which has blocked its longstanding bid for EU membership. “It’s not about the S-400s, it’s not about the F-16s,” he said. “It’s about legitimacy.”
His comments came one day before Trump and Erdoğan were scheduled to meet at the White House on September 25, Erdoğan’s first visit to the White House since 2019.
The remarks sparked criticism in Turkey, where Erdoğan has been accused of dismantling democratic institutions, silencing opponents and presiding over a deepening economic crisis.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) rejected Özel’s allegations, describing them as false and defamatory.
AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik said Özel had crossed the line of legitimate political debate and accused him of spreading baseless claims rather than offering policy alternatives.
Çelik denied that Erdoğan was seeking approval, protection or guarantees from any foreign leader and dismissed the suggestion that the president was under pressure from Washington.
The legal action against Özel marks the latest escalation in an increasingly confrontational political climate in Turkey, where opposition figures and government critics face frequent lawsuits and criminal complaints over remarks targeting the president.
