İYİ Party's Çömez claimed that AKP's Mehmet Nuri Ersoy provided "rent" by allocating forest land to his company.
Minister Ersoy filed a lawsuit against both Çömez and the Sözcü newspaper, which reported on Çömez's claims.
The court ordered Çömez and the Sözcü newspaper to pay compensation.
In a video published on YouTube in 2025, Turhan Çömez had claimed that forest lands in the Bodrum Kissebükü region were allocated to Minister Ersoy's company, that rent was created in the region, and that public resources were used in this context.
Ersoy filed a non-pecuniary damages lawsuit on the grounds that his personal rights were violated. The Istanbul 33rd Civil Court of First Instance ordered Çömez to pay 50 thousand liras in non-pecuniary damages.
The Sözcü newspaper, which reported on Çömez's claims, was also sentenced to pay 50 thousand liras in non-pecuniary damages in a separate case.
News Source: 12punto