Turkish court orders ‘forced appearance’ for former opposition leader Kilicdaroglu

A Turkish court has issued a ‘forced appearance” order for the main opposition party Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in connection with a defamation lawsuit filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s former lawyer, Mustafa Dogan Inal.

The Istanbul 48th Criminal Court of First Instance issued the order on Oct. 16.

Defamation case stemming from parliamentary speech

The lawsuit was filed following remarks Kilicdaroglu made during a CHP parliamentary group meeting in October 2023, in which he allegedly insulted Inal.

The former CHP leader’s comments included allegations of corruption. Despite efforts from Kilicdaroglu’s legal team to have a summons sent to his Ankara residence, the court granted the request of the plaintiff’s lawyer for a compulsory appearance order.

Next hearing scheduled for February 2025

The next hearing in the case is set for February 18, 2025, according to the former CHP deputy Baris Yarkadas. If Kilicdaroglu does not attend voluntarily, the police may be required to bring him to court.

Kilicdaroglu responded to the court’s decision in a video statement, denouncing the order as politically motivated and vowing not to retreat from his position.

Hodri Meydan! pic.twitter.com/GT0uq6sFbA

— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) October 16, 2024

CHP’s current leader Ozel and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu both criticized the court’s decision, calling it politically driven.

Önceki Genel Başkanımız Sn. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu hakkında bugün verilen zorla getirme kararı, hukuki olmadığı gibi, siyasallaştırılmış yargının gözdağı verme çabasıdır.

Partimiz bu çabalara karşı bir ve bütün olarak dimdik ayaktadır.

— Özgür Özel (@eczozgurozel) October 16, 2024

The decision to bring our former Chairman, Mr. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, into custody today is not only unlawful, but also an attempt to intimidate by a politicized judiciary.

Our party stands tall as one and as a whole against these efforts.

Ozgur Ozel

Apply forced rendition decisions to those who have dozens of criminal records and are walking around.

The decision to forcibly bring our 7th Chairman Mr. Kemal Kilicdaroglu to justice due to an ongoing case is not legal but political. We stand by Mr. Kemal until the end in this process.

Ekrem Imamoglu

Zorla getirme kararlarını onlarca suç kaydı olup ortalıklarda gezenlere işletin.

7. Genel Başkanımız Sayın Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’na devam eden bir dava sebebiyle verilen zorla getirme kararı hukuki değil siyasidir. Bu süreçte Kemal Bey’in sonuna kadar yanındayız.

— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) October 16, 2024

They expressed full support for Kilicdaroglu, affirming that the party would stand united against what they view as judicial pressure.