{"id":39718,"date":"2026-03-13T23:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/39718\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T23:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:13:12","slug":"former-akp-lawmaker-sued-for-damages-for-allegedly-insulting-erdogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/39718\/","title":{"rendered":"Former AKP lawmaker sued for damages for allegedly insulting Erdo\u011fan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

H\u00fcseyin Kocab\u0131y\u0131k, a former lawmaker from Turkey\u2019s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), is facing a lawsuit seeking non-pecuniary damages over his alleged insults of President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan.<\/p>\n

Kocab\u0131y\u0131k said in a post on X that the lawsuit seeks 400,000 lira (around $9,100) in compensation. He criticized the case, writing, \u201cApparently they are strengthening the home front. What a turn of events\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Kamuoyuna duyurulur: Cumhurba\u015fkan\u0131 Erdo\u011fan kendisine hakaret etti\u011fim iddias\u0131yla dava a\u00e7t\u0131. Hi\u00e7bir \u015fekilde hakaret etmedi\u011fim apa\u00e7\u0131k ortadayken mahkeme 2 y\u0131l be\u015f ay be\u015f g\u00fcn ceza verdi.
Erdo\u011fan \u015fimdi de bana 400.000 TL\u2019lik tazminat davas\u0131 a\u00e7m\u0131\u015f.
Malum, i\u00e7 cepheyi g\u00fc\u00e7lendiriyor\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 H\u00fcseyin Kocab\u0131y\u0131k (@hsyk35) March 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Kocab\u0131y\u0131k was sentenced<\/a> in December 2025 to more than two years in prison for insulting Erdo\u011fan. He spent 72 days in pretrial detention awaiting the ruling of the court before being released under an international travel ban.<\/p>\n

The sentence was not immediately enforced due to the time he spent in pretrial detention and the possibility of appeal.<\/p>\n

He was\u00a0taken into custody<\/a>\u00a0in October 2025 after the Cumhuriyet daily published an interview in which he described the ruling AKP as a network of favoritism and patronage that rewards loyalty while leaving little room for dissent.<\/p>\n

He was expelled from the AKP in 2025 after sharply criticizing the detention of \u0130stanbul Mayor Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu, calling<\/a> it\u00a0\u201ca coup\u201d staged by President Erdo\u011fan against himself.<\/p>\n

\u0130mamo\u011flu, widely seen as President Erdo\u011fan\u2019s strongest political rival, was arrested<\/a> in March 2025 on corruption charges that critics say are politically motivated and intended to sideline him ahead of the 2028 general election.<\/p>\n

Under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, insulting the president is a criminal offense in Turkey. The law has been criticized by human rights and press freedom advocates, who say it is used to prosecute journalists, politicians and ordinary citizens for expressing critical views of the president or even satirizing him indirectly.<\/p>\n

In 2021 the European Court of Human Rights\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0that the law should be amended or repealed, stating that giving special protection to the president stifles public debate and chills dissent. International human rights organizations have also repeatedly urged the Turkish government to\u00a0review<\/a>\u00a0the law, which they describe as incompatible with democratic norms and international free speech standards.<\/p>\n