Erdoğan lawyer sues Hürriyet journalist for book on US-Turkey ties

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet correspondent Tolga Tanış

An Istanbul court has launched a probe into Tolga Tanış, the Washington correspondent of daily Hürriyet, following a complaint by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer Ahmet Özel, who accused the journalist for “slandering” the president in his book “POTUS ve Beyefendi” (POTUS and the Gentleman). 

A prosecutor accepted the complaint in which Özel said the book “contains untrue information that could damage his client’s reputation and could provoke the public against him,” also defending that it could not be considered as a source book. 

The court called on Tanış to testify, as he is expected to do so in upcoming days. 

Tanış, also a columnist at Hürriyet and Hürriyet Daily News, analyses the U.S.-Turkey ties starting from 2009, when the U.S. President Barack Obama came to power and 2014, when Erdoğan left his seat as a prime minister to become the president. 

“POTUS” is an acronym for the “President of the U.S.,” as “Beyefendi” was a common word used by supporters of Erdoğan to define him when he was the prime minister.