In Türkiye, President Erdogan’s former rival in the 2023 presidential election, opponent Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, appeared this Friday in Ankara. The prosecution requested a heavy sentence, up to 11 years and eight months in prison, as well as an ineligibility sentence, in a trial for “ insult » where the complainant is none other than the Turkish president himself.
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With our correspondent in Ankara, Anne Andlauer
As he promised, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu used the court as a platform to repeat the accusations that earned him this trial. The former rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential election is being prosecuted for “ insult to the head of state » due to comments that date back around ten years, when Erdogan was still Prime Minister. They concerned a vast corruption scandal involving, at the end of 2013, people close to the Turkish leader – an affair that the government quickly hushed up -.
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Before the judges, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu described the president several times as “ thief ”, and even “ leader of thieves “. Obviously, the former leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was not intimidated by the Minister of Justice who had estimated the day before that this trial should serve ” example » to those who “ insult » the head of state.
Turkey’s main opposition party also sees this trial as an opportunity to close ranks. Since its defeat in last year’s presidential election, the CHP has given the image of a very divided party, particularly between supporters of Kemal Kiliçdaroglu and those of his successor, Özgür Özel.
The current leader of the CHP attended the hearing alongside numerous deputies, mayors and members of the party. Kemal Kiliçdaroglu is not the only member of the CHP to be pursued by Erdogan for “ insult to the head of state “. Another accusation targets Özgür Özel, the president of the CHP, and the Turkish president filed a complaint in early November against the opposition mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu for defamatory remarks he allegedly made the day before during a rally, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
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