Assets of Turkey’s Felicity Party seized over complaint by founder’s son

Turan Yılmaz - ANKARA

The assets of Turkey’s Felicity Party (SP) were seized over a complaint by the son and son-in-law of the party’s founder.

The SP’s assets were seized after the party’s “spiritual leader” Necmettin Erbakan’s son Fatih Erbakan and his son-in-law Mehmet Altınöz filed a complaint over the party’s rental debt to their company.

Bank accounts and vehicles belonging to the SP were among the assets that were confiscated. The party headquarters in Ankara is also among the real estate properties the order of seizure was given for.

The rift within the “Milli Görüş” (National Vision) Movement started when the company ETAŞ, of which Erbakan and Altınöz are 80 percent shareholders, filed a complaint for the evacuation of the party headquarters, which the company owns, over rental debt.

The party, in return, appealed the decision, but on Sept. 14 the proceedings for the seizure of the party’s assets, including real estate properties and bank accounts were launched.

The Ankara Fifth Debt Collection Office also ruled for the immediate seizure of SP leader Temel Karamollaoğlu’s Mercedes-Benz vehicle on Sept. 19.

“The assets belong to the National Vision,” said SP General Secretary Tacettin Çetinkaya speaking about the issue.

“The cause of the National Vision is one left to us by Erbakan Hodja. This is a party of the National Vision and these buildings belong to that vision, thus they are under the use of SP. The bank accounts and the vehicles are also the SP’s. These are assets that were obtained by the contributions of our members. That is why, even though they are for a company, they are not anyone’s personal belongings, but they belong to the movement,” Çetinkaya told daily Hürriyet on Oct. 5, as he added the legal procedures for stopping the seizure of the party’s assets were ongoing.

Meanwhile, ETAŞ officials told daily Hürriyet the SP is a tenant of the company.

“The tenant needs to pay the rent. The legal procedures to obtain the rent are being carried out within the law. Turkey is a state of law and there is a Turkish Commercial Code. If a tenant does not pay his rent, then these procedures are necessary in terms of law,” the officials said.