Özgür Özel, the leader of Turkey's main opposition party - the Republican People's Party (CHP), has been ordered by an Istanbul court to pay 150,000 Turkish liras (3,000 euros) in damages to Istanbul's chief prosecutor Aken Gürlek over statements made against him, the Birgunj newspaper reported, quoted by BTA.
“The comments made by the leader of the main opposition party against the plaintiff, who is Istanbul's chief prosecutor, go beyond the level of criticism and contain allegations that cannot legally be considered part of freedom of expression. Furthermore, the plaintiff is not a politician but a civil servant. He holds an important position in the judiciary, but is not a well-known or public figure. Therefore, criticism and accusations directed at him should be more limited than criticism and statements directed at well-known or public figures,” the court’s ruling, published yesterday, said.
The court’s ruling concerns statements made by Özel in June at a rally of the HDP in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district. At the time, the opposition party leader addressed the Istanbul chief prosecutor in absentia, saying: “Aken, you have reached rock bottom. (…) I will come and tear you apart, come to your senses.”
This is not the only case in which Turkish authorities have taken action against Özel over his statements. Twice this year – in August and early November - the prosecutor's office launched investigations against the leader of the PKK for other statements about Gürlek, and in the meantime, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed a defamation case against Özel.