PM Erdoğan wins lawsuit against Sözcü daily

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

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An Ankara court has fined the daily Sözcü and its correspondent, Ali Gülen, and ordered them to pay compensation to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for “insulting” him in an article.

Erdoğan received 5,000 Turkish liras in compensation after winning a lawsuit in which he claimed the daily Sözcü and its correspondent Gülen were “insulting his individual rights for publishing an article that was disrespectful [towards him].”

Erdoğan‘s lawyer, Burhanettin Sevencan, and the lawyer for the newspaper and the correspondent, Muhammed Tarık Gündoğmuş, attended the hearing, which took place in Ankara’s 12th Civil Court of First Instance.

Daily Sözcü, who are renowned for having right-wing and nationalist political views, are a staunch critic of Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Judge Mustafa Çakmak partially accepted the lawsuit and ruled in favor of the plaintiff by penalizing the defendants with a 5,000 lira fine.

The lawyer representing the defendants stated that there were no insults or degrading expressions directed towards Erdoğan in the article and they requested a dismissal of action.