Erdoğan and his family file criminal complaint against Metin Cihan: 'Burak Erdoğan' claim

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his family have filed a criminal complaint due to journalist Metin Cihan's statements that "while Erdoğan was condemning Israel's bombing of a hospital, his son Burak Erdoğan's company was loading cargo at an Israeli port."

CRIME OF INSULT AND SLANDER

According to the Sabah newspaper, the criminal complaint filed with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requests that a lawsuit be initiated against Metin Cihan for the crimes of "insult" and "slander." The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation following the complaint.

Metin Cihan, who has been criticizing trade relations between Turkey and Israel in recent days, had claimed with documents he published on November 28 that "a ship belonging to Burak Erdoğan's company was loading cargo at an Israeli port while Erdoğan was condemning the hospital bombing on October 17."

Cihan had stated, "While President Erdoğan was criticizing Israel for the hospital bombing on October 17, his son Burak Erdoğan's company was loading cargo at an Israeli port. On October 28, while he was again speaking out against Israel, his son's ship was carrying its cargo through the Strait of Gibraltar."

Stating that his claims were based on open sources, Cihan indicated that the ship conducting shipments in Israel was named "Halit Yıldırım" and that this ship belonged to the Manta Denizcilik company, owned by Mert Çetinkaya, for whom Erdoğan served as a wedding witness. Cihan had noted that MB Denizcilik, a joint company of Çetinkaya and Erdoğan's son Burak Erdoğan, is registered at the same address as Manta Denizcilik.

Journalist Metin Cihan's social media posts are as follows: