A complaint was filed with the capital prosecutor’s office against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the main referent of the CHP. He is “guilty” of having criticized the government for the widespread circulation of methamphetamine. The government would be using that trade to settle debts in a time of economic crisis. Attack by President Erdoğan, who demands a trial.
Ankara () – Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has been the “first victim” of the controversial Disinformation Law proposed by the government and approved a few weeks ago. According to critical rumours, the purpose of the move is to further tighten censorship control. The “blame” attributed to the leader is having attacked the government because he does nothing to combat the growing methamphetamine traffic throughout the country.
The police framed him precisely for his criticism of the authorities, accusing him of spreading false and damaging information for the image of the country. In recent days, the General Directorate of Security (EGM) filed a formal complaint with the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the crimes committed by opposition parliamentarians, also attributing “insult, slander and offense to the Turkish state.”
In a video posted on Twitter on October 31, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican Party (CHP), attacked the government and holding it responsible for what he calls “a methamphetamine epidemic.” In need of foreign exchange to limit the effects of the economic crisis, the government would have attracted the “drug barons” and favored, or at least would have done nothing to limit, the boom in the production and consumption of narcotic substances. “They have emptied the Treasury and destroyed the economy. When all the resources were exhausted, he added, they began a very dirty game to stay in power. They turned a blind eye to all kinds of black money coming into the country.”
The complaint states that the opposition leader is then the first to answer for the accusations provided for by the “disinformation” law, approved by Parliament, amid fierce controversies by journalists and critical voices, in the middle of last month. In particular, article 29 establishes that whoever “disseminates information that deceives the public” must be sentenced to a sentence of up to three years in prison.
For Celal Çelik, a lawyer for the CHP leader, the complaint filed with the prosecutor is further proof of the damage caused by the new law, and highlights the legitimacy of the criticism. “They have shown -added the lawyer- that said article of the law will be used against politicians to limit their freedom of expression. This measure shows to what extent our arguments are legitimate.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also threatened to take legal action against Kılıçdaroğlu, whose words about synthetic drugs “have crossed all limits”. For his statements about resorting to drugs to pay off the debt at a time of economic crisis, the head of state added, “he will have to answer before the law.” According to the Anti-Narcotics Department, the amount of methamphetamine seized by police increased fivefold between 2019 and 2021. Experts consider it to have become a “gateway drug,” especially among low-income urban youth.
