Second lawsuit against HKP leader for insulting the president

Nurullah Efe, the former chairman of the People's Liberation Party (HKP), is facing the same charge of "insulting the president" again, following a previous conviction for the same offense, this time due to statements he used in his defense. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has filed a new lawsuit, alleging that Efe's remarks regarding President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his defense in the MİT trucks case constituted an insult.

In 2014, Efe had applied to the International Criminal Court regarding the MİT trucks that were stopped in Adana and Hatay, targeting then-President Erdoğan and other officials. Following this application, Efe was sentenced to 1 year, 2 months, and 22 days in prison for "insulting a public official due to their duty." However, the Court of Cassation ruled that since Erdoğan was President at the time, Efe should have been tried for "insulting the president," and finalized the sentence after adjusting it to 1 year, 5 months, and 15 days.

Following this decision by the Court of Cassation, Efe's party membership and leadership role were terminated. Party lawyers appealed the decision. However, the defense Efe presented on October 18 led to the filing of a new lawsuit. The terms he used in his defense, such as "criminal organization," "traitor," and "illegal palace," were deemed as insults to the president.

Efe, who will appear before the Ankara 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance on September 9, will be tried with a request for a prison sentence of up to 4 years and 8 months. The indictment stated that Efe's statements exceeded the limits of freedom of expression and constituted an attack on the president's honor. In his defense, Efe stated that he was drawing attention to Turkey's problems and did not have the intent to insult.