PM Erdoğan: Some Trials Withdrawn - Some still Pending
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan withdrew a number of trials opened prior to the parliamentary elections in the middle of June against politicians and journalists. However, the court cases against journalist and MP of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Oktay Ekşi, artist Müjdat Gezen, writer Yalçın Küçük and journalist Ergun Poyraz are still pending.
The prime minister stepped back from ten compensation claims filed against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Chairman of the CHP, three claims against Devlet Bahçeli, Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and one claim each made against Namık Kemal, Chairman of the Democracy Party (DP) and journalists Meriç Velidedeoğlu and Ahmet Altan.
In his first speech made after he won the parliamentary elections on 12 June, Erdoğan said that he had no hard feelings against the politicians who offended him.
Trials withdrawn
The following cases were withdrawn by PM Erdoğan:
* A TL 50,000 (€ 25,000) compensation claim against Taraf newspaper writer Altan on the grounds of his article entitled "Erdoğan and the weak bullying".
* A column written by Cumhuriyet newspaper writer Velidedeoğlu because he described the prime minister as "humanlike".
* A compensation claim worth TL 100,000 (€ 50,000) against DP leader Zeybek for saying "I call Erdoğan a fool".
* A TL 50,000 compensation claim against CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu for repeatedly saying, "I am not that indecent, immoral and mean" and a TL 40,000 (€ 20,000) claim for saying "You made the money run".
* A claim worth TL 100,000 against MHP Chair Bahçeli on the grounds of insult.
Pending Trials
Trials filed by PM Erdoğan that are still pending:
* A TL 100,000 compensation claim against journalist and CHP MP Ekşi for writing "They would even sell their mothers".
* A TL 50,000 compensation claim against artist Gezen by reason of "accusing the AKP electorate of being stupid".
* Trials against writer Poyraz and journalist Küçük on the grounds of the book "Musa's Children, Tayyip and Emine" and "Epileptic Public" respectively. (NV/ŞA)