Erdogan to sue Turkey's main opposition leader 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is suing the head of the country’s main opposition party for two million Turkish lira (Dh996,213) over allegations he made in a newspaper interview about the president’s offshore wealth, Thenational.ae reported.

The suit is the latest but by far the largest damages claim brought by Mr Erdogan and his family against Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Mr Erdogan’s lawyer, Ahmet Ozel, said the case was being brought for “lies and slanderous insults” made by Mr Kilicdaroglu in an interview published on Monday in Cumhuriyet, a newspaper favouring the CHP.

“We are sure that, as he couldn’t before, again he will not be able to prove any of his unfounded claims,” Mr Ozel said in a statement. “However, he will continue his tactic of mudslinging. In this context, we have submitted the necessary criminal complaint applications to the relevant authorities.”

He also said: “Once again, we stress that the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his family members do not have any money abroad.”

In the interview, Mr Kilicdaroglu accused the Erdogan family of having “cheated Turkey” through not paying taxes. “If the Erdogan family loves the country, let it bring its overseas fortune to Turkey. They have billions,” he said.