Khaberni - The lawyer of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced yesterday, Thursday, that his client had filed a complaint against the leader of the main opposition party on charges of "insult," and asked for compensation for "moral damage."
The complaint filed in Ankara demands compensation in the amount of 500,000 Turkish Lira (about $11,800) as explained by the lawyer Husayn Aydin on the X platform.
The lawyer believed that the leader of the Republican People’s Party, an opposition, made "inappropriate statements and baseless accusations against our president" in a speech he gave the day before yesterday, Wednesday.
In his address to his party's supporters in a remote area in Istanbul on Wednesday evening, the main opposition party leader Oğuz Özel accused the authorities of preventing the display of posters bearing the image of the imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
He said, "They fear his image," referring to the mayor who was detained on March 19th for "corruption" charges, which he denies.
"Control Your Dogs"
Özel added, addressing the Turkish president, "From now on, control those who work under your orders and your dogs who bother us."
Some consider İmamoğlu the main potential rival to Erdogan if he runs in the upcoming presidential elections.
The president's lawyer said, "A lawsuit for moral compensation amounting to 500,000 Turkish Lira has been filed before the Civil Court of First Instance in Ankara," and "a criminal lawsuit for insulting the president has been filed with the public prosecutor in Ankara."
Erdogan had previously filed a similar complaint on November 1st, 2025, against the mayor of Istanbul for insult and defamation during a public gathering.
İmamoğlu was then accused of "making baseless accusations, including defamation, which constitutes a violation of Erdogan's rights," and "acting with the intention of insulting the president in public."
The mayor of the major city faces many legal proceedings and complaints, including those related to corruption and defamation, and insulting the president, he has recently been accused of espionage.
