Ankara Regional Court Rules Against Özgür Özel: Ordered to Pay Damages to Süleyman Soylu

Appellate Court Overturns Local Ruling The 25th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice has reached a verdict in the compensation lawsuit between former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel.
The court overturned a previous local court decision that had dismissed the case, ruling instead that Özel must pay 25,000 Turkish Liras in non-pecuniary damages to Soylu.
Limits of Criticism Exceeded Süleyman Soylu had originally filed a lawsuit seeking 1 million Turkish Liras in damages, alleging that Özel's statements violated his personal rights.
Upon reviewing the file, the appellate court determined that the expressions in question could not be considered within the scope of freedom of expression or value judgments.
In its reasoning, the court acknowledged that while the limits of criticism regarding politicians are broad, the specific remarks in this case exceeded the boundaries of harsh and heavy criticism.
The court emphasized that the statements constituted an attack on the plaintiff's personality rights.
Compensation to Include Legal Interest In accordance with the court's decision, the 25,000 TL compensation will be collected from Özgür Özel along with legal interest accrued since the lawsuit's filing date on June 27, 2022.
The payment will be made to the plaintiff, Süleyman Soylu.