Ankara prosecutors launch probe into ex-French diplomat for ‘inciting’ Erdoğan’s assassination: Spokesperson

ANKARA

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office has launched a probe into a former French diplomat on charges of “instigation of the assassination of the president,” a presidential spokesperson said on April 24.

İbrahim Kalın told a press meeting that a statement by Philippe Moreau Defarges was not an insult or a criticism but a call for an assassination.

“The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office has launched a probe into French political scientist Philippe Moreau Defarges on charges of ‘instigating an assassination.’ Our president also made a complaint. This French professor made a statement to apologize yesterday. We do not find it sufficient. This is absolutely a first step,” he said.

Kalın also said a French lawyers’ association had complained against Defarges.

“It is not possible to permit the normalization of this kind of fascist discourse for us,” he said.   

Earlier an April 24, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a complaint against Defarges for his remarks on French broadcaster BFM Business on April 22.

The probe by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office followed, according to a judicial source.
        
Hüseyin Aydın, Erdogan’s lawyer, sent a four-page criminal complaint to the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office accusing Defarges of “attempting to commit an assassination and assault,” said presidential sources.    
   
“In light of the terrorist groups which have been hosted by many European countries and all the incidents urging the assassination of our president that took place there, it is clear that the suspect’s remarks are far from a simple opinion, but are in fact an incitement,” it said.       

Following a debate, Defarges, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), apologized for his controversial comments on April 23, calling them “inappropriate” and expressing his “deepest sadness.”        

“On Saturday, April 22, I was invited to ‘7 Days in the World’ [BFM Business] to discuss my views on the situation in Turkey. Some of my statements were inappropriate and misunderstood,” Defarges tweeted in French.    
    
“I want to express my deepest sadness and sincerely apology to the people and groups I might have hurt. My words are not binding to IFRI in any way and are completely personal,” he added.