Turkish prosecutors have sought to lift the parliamentary immunity of an opposition MP over a social media post about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s past assets, with prosecutors seeking a prison sentence of up to four years, according to the lawmaker.
Deniz Yavuzyılmaz, a deputy chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said a formal motion had been sent to parliament requesting that he be prosecuted for the post.
The post cited in the motion included an image of an asset declaration document that Yavuzyılmaz said Erdoğan submitted in 1994 after winning the İstanbul mayoral election. In his caption Yavuzyılmaz described the document as the president’s first asset declaration and said it reflected Erdoğan’s financial situation at the start of his political career.
Under Turkish law elected officials are required to submit asset declarations to provide transparency about their financial situation at the start of public service.
According to the summary of proceedings prepared by prosecutors, Yavuzyılmaz is accused under Article 136 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes the unlawful obtaining or spreading of personal data. The provision carries a prison sentence of two to four years, with prosecutors also seeking an increased sentence because the material was shared publicly online.
The document lists Erdoğan as the complainant in the case and names his lawyer as having filed a formal complaint. Prosecutors argue that the asset declaration contains personal data and that sharing it on social media constitutes unlawful dissemination, regardless of the document’s authenticity.
Yavuzyılmaz said on X that the document he shared was an official record and rejected the allegation that posting it constituted a crime and that the prosecution’s request amounted to an attempt to suppress information about Erdoğan’s early financial status.. He described the prosecution’s request as politically motivated.
Opposition politicians in Turkey have frequently faced legal cases and motions to lift their immunity in recent years. Critics say the practice is used to pressure government opponents, while authorities insist the judiciary operates independently and that lawmakers are subject to the law.
Erdoğan has dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades, first rising to prominence in the 1990s before serving as prime minister and later as president. He has held the presidency since 2014 and leads the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Erdoğan and his government have previously faced corruption allegations, most notably during a series of investigations launched in 2013 that implicated ministers, business figures, and people close to the president. Erdoğan claimed the probes were politically motivated, and the cases were later dropped after prosecutors and police involved in the investigations were reassigned or dismissed.
