Kılıçdaroğlu faces prison for insult charges against ex-minister

ISTANBUL

Former leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, faces a potential prison sentence of up to two years and four months over remarks made against former minister Erdoğan Bayraktar, according to local media reports.

The case was initiated due to Kılıçdaroğlu's comments targeting Bayraktar, who faced a parliamentary investigation in 2013 over corruption allegations.

The comprehensive probe in 2013 implicated high-ranking government officials, with Bayraktar's son, Abdullah Oğuz Bayraktar, being detained. Subsequently, Erdoğan Bayraktar resigned from both his ministerial position and his parliamentary seat.

Although a petition was filed by Bayraktar's lawyer to withdraw the complaint against Kılıçdaroğlu, the prosecutor maintained that the accusation "falls under the Turkish Penal Code and cannot be withdrawn," as reported by daily Cumhuriyet.

The prosecutor's opinion highlights Kılıçdaroğlu's use of the term "thieves" in reference to Bayraktar during a public event attended by press members, deeming it beyond the bounds of freedom of thought and expression.

In response, Kılıçdaroğlu's legal team requested time to prepare a defense. The court granted this request, postponing the hearing to May 30.

The case against Kılıçdaroğlu was initially dropped in February 2018, but was reopened in April 2021 following objections from Bayraktar's legal representatives.

Moreover, previously shielded by legislative immunity as a member of parliament in the last term, Kılıçdaroğlu's decision not to run in last year's parliamentary elections resulted in the lifting of his immunity. Consequently, the stay order on the case was reversed.