Court fines Ankara mayor one kuruş for insult

ANKARA - Radikal

An Ankara court has fined Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek one Turkish Kuruş in damages for insulting the Chamber of City Planners, daily Radikal reported Nov. 1.

The court ordered Gökçek to pay the token fine to Necati Uyar, the head of the Chamber of City Planners under the Chamber of Architects and Engineers’ (TMMOB), for his offensive remarks.

In February 2012, a court ordered a halt to the Dikmen Valley urban transformation project in Ankara after the Chamber of City Planners filed a lawsuit.

Gökçek however, said, “I will not allow the Chamber of City Planners to draw a barn landscape,” after the court decision. The court determined the remark to be insulting. “The jurisdiction has confirmed the value we attach to İ. Melih Gökçek, who chooses to insult the parties who defend Ankara residents’ rights instead of telling people the truth in order to hide his unsuccessful mayoralty over the past 20 years,” said Uyar in the wake of the decision.