'I saw Erdoğan watching that sex tape'

ISTANBUL

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said he has seen footage showing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan watching a 2010 sex tape that forced the main opposition's then-leader Deniz Baykal to resign.

"I watched it. Those who made Prime Minister Erdoğan watch the footage [secretly] filmed him, too. The latest audio recording consists of their conversations," Kılıçdaroğlu told Kanaltürk TV station March 27.

An audio recording released late on March 25 allegedly portrays Erdoğan speaking about the video of Baykal before it was uploaded onto YouTube. In the recording, the prime minister gives orders for the release of the video. The tape is said to have shown Baykal allegedly having an affair with a female politician.

Kılıçdaroğlu likened the situation to the Watergate scandal that occurred during the presidency of Richard Nixon in the United States, while Erdoğan had accused Kılıçdaroğlu of involvement in the leak.

"Erdoğan was filmed by the webcam of the computer that he used to watch the tape. I've never seen a man lying so scandalously. Mr. Baykal knows this and that's why he's now suing Erdoğan," Kılıçdaroğlu added.

When asked about why he waited until today to speak out, Kılıçdaroğlu answered: "I didn't have the recording as it was not given to me then. A screenshot from the film [showing Erdoğan watching the tape] has now leaked onto the Internet, so I'm revealing it."