Prosecutor trashes main opposition leader over criticism of ‘erroneous’ summoning

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

The prosecutor who came under the spotlight for “mistakenly” summoning Turkey’s main opposition leader last week has thrown down the gauntlet, after Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu questioned his academic qualifications.

“[Kılıçdaroğlu] questioned where I got my university degree from. I graduated from Istanbul University’s law faculty in 1983. I did not get my degree from Kılıçdaroğlu. If we were to race our degrees, his would weep in tears compared to mine,” prosecutor Mehmet Demir defiantly told Doğan News Agency on May 7.

“If my degree was to distribute alms for charity, Kılıçdaroğlu’s wouldn’t suffer from hunger for 15 years,” Demir added.

Kılıçdaroğlu had criticized the summons issued by Demir, which disregarded Kılıçdaroğlu’s legal immunity as a member of Parliament. The investigation had been launched following a complaint filed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son, Bilal Erdoğan, on charges of insult.

“I respect a prosecutor for the republic. But when someone becomes Bilal’s prosecutor, well he is not a prosecutor anymore. He thinks that he can take my testimony. Who do you think you are, you godforsaken prosecutor,” Kılıçdaroğlu said May 6 during his party’s parliamentary group meeting.

Demir, who was removed from the case following the controversy, invited Kılıçdaroğlu to measure against himself.

“I am Mehmet Demir from Kahramanmaraş. I am the grandchild of Afşin. I am a prosecutor for the republic. This is how this matter should be known,” said Demir, adding that he intended to open his own lawsuit against Kılıçdaroğlu.

“To insult a prosecutor of the republic in such a way is a crime. All these lynch attempts and insults for an invitation issued by mistake are unfair,” he added.

The incident triggered angry reactions within the main opposition, particularly after the plaintiff was revealed to be Bilal Erdoğan, who is facing allegations of corruption and who was a target in the second graft probe launched on Dec. 25, 2013.

According to legal procedures, prosecutors have to send a summary of proceedings to Parliament in order to request the investigation of any deputy as a suspect.