Turkish prosecutor files summary of proceedings against main opposition leader

A Turkish prosecutor has filed a summary of proceeding against the country's main opposition leader on charges of "insulting the president" in his public speeches and through messages he shared on social media.

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office drafted a summary of proceedings over main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu on the basis of Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which states: "A person who defames the president of the Republic [of Turkey] shall be imprisoned for a term of one to four years and the penalty to be imposed shall be increased by one-sixth if the offence is committed publicly and by one-third if it is committed by way of press and media."

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office sent the summary to the Justice Ministry in order to be conveyed to parliament, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 26, noting two of K?l?çdaro?lu's recent speeches and his Twitter postings were subject to the charges.

According to private broadcaster CNN Türk, the CHP leader said the prosecutor who filed the summary of proceedings was "not complying with the duties of a prosecutor."

K?l?çdaro?lu called President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an a "sham dictator" during a speech at the Jan. 16 CHP congress, as well as during a weekly address to his party deputies three days later and in postings the same day. 

"Would I call someone who admires [Adolph] Hitler, has polarized society and has turned the country into an inferno a peace envoy instead of a sham dictator?" K?l?çdaro?lu wrote on Twitter. 

In January, the office in charge of investigating press crimes at the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation against K?l?çdaro?lu on charges of "openly insulting...