Turkish PM sues opposition leader

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sued main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?cdaro?lu over a statement in which he characterized Erdogan as a "traitor" to the country, with the prime minister's lawyers claiming that K?l?cdaro?lu violated Erdogan's personal rights Today`s Zaman reproted

Erdogan's lawyers Ali Ozkaya, Muammer Cemaloglu and Burhanettin Sevencan argued in a petition lodged with an Ankara court that K?l?cdaro?lu directed excessively heavy insults at the prime minister in a CHP party meeting on Thursday.

Alluding to the prime minister, K?l?cdaro?lu gave a definition of "traitor" to the gathering, saying, "The man who fails to protect his country and its interests is a traitor."

Erdogan's lawyers quoted K?l?cdaroglu's statement in their petition and pointed out that those remarks exceeded the legitimate boundaries of freedom of speech and fair public criticism.

The lawyers demanded damages of TL 100,000 from K?l?cdaroglu for what they are calling a gross and offensive violation of Erdogan's personal rights.

Violation of "personal rights" is the basis for civil suits, as set forth in Turkey's Code of Obligations.


/Trend/