Verdict in the lawsuit filed by Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu against Özgür Özel

General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, who was appointed as Chief of General Staff by the decision of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), had filed a non-pecuniary damages lawsuit against CHP Chairman Özgür Özel in March.

Özel had reacted to the appointment of Lieutenant General Tevfik Algan, the Disciplinary Board Chairman who approved the dismissal of 5 lieutenants who took an oath saying "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" and who had entered a dissenting opinion on this decision, by stating: "Land Forces Commander Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu and Naval Forces Commander Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, I know what you are doing, and I am saying to you what I said to Hulusi Akar. You are men who have received not the blessings, but the curses of your colleagues."

Following these statements, Bayraktaroğlu filed a non-pecuniary damages lawsuit against Özel. The lawyers of both parties attended the first hearing held at the Ankara 1st Civil Court of First Instance.

BAYRAKTAROĞLU'S LAWYER REQUESTED THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE LAWSUIT

Bayraktaroğlu's lawyer stated, "Since the plaintiff, my client, is a member of the military, he cannot exercise his right of reply within the framework of the laws and can only seek his rights through lawsuits in courts. We request that our lawsuit be accepted."

"THE STATEMENTS CONSIST OF POLITICAL CRITICISM"

Özel's lawyer made the following assessment:

"The defendant is the chairman of the main opposition party and a politician. The plaintiff is a public official who exercises public power. It is established by national and international jurisprudence that public officials have a higher obligation to tolerate criticism from politicians compared to ordinary citizens. The statements of my client that are the subject of the lawsuit consist of political criticism. Therefore, we request that the lawsuit be dismissed."

The judge stated that there were no other matters to be investigated in the file and ruled for the dismissal of the case.