Erdogan files libel suit against opposition leader for 1 million lira
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed a lawsuit against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu over his statements last Tuesday (May 24).
Erdogan has sued Kılıçdaroğlu for 1 million Turkish lira (≈61,537 US dollars).
Releasing a video on his Twitter account Kılıçdaroğlu had claimed they had obtained documents of the money transfer to the US through two foundations, the Ensar Foundation and the Turkey Youth and Education Service Foundation (TÜRGEV).
The two foundations are working together with another foundation based in the US and members of the Erdogan family are directly involved in the transactions, he said.
About the reason why the Erdogan family plans to take refuge in the US, he said, “You would expect them to go to Qatar. But there is no law there. They would send them back. But they can hide behind the American laws.”
Government officials denied the CHP leader’s claims, saying that those foundations are educational institutions, and the transactions were not “confidential.”
One day later, Erdogan’s attorney Hüseyin Aydın said, “Due to his accusations against Mr. President, legal action will be taken against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu,”.
