MP Ahmet Şık files a criminal complaint against MHP Chair Bahçeli

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Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) İstanbul MP Ahmet Şık has filed a criminal complaint against Devlet Bahçeli, the Chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who targeted him at his weekly group meeting.

The petition prepared by Şık's attorneys Fikret İlkiz, Can Atalay and Tora Pekin was submitted to the İstanbul Anadolu Courthouse yesterday (June 9) to be sent to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The attorneys of the MP have underlined that the speech of Devlet Bahçeli, whose party is in the People's Alliance with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, cannot be considered within the scope of freedom of expression. Accordingly, they have demanded that a criminal case be filed against Bahçeli as per the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 125 (insult), Article 106 (threat), Article 214 (provocation to commit an offense) and Article 267 (calumny).

'He was targeted and threatened with death'

The attorneys of Ahmet Şık have indicated that the remarks of Bahçeli about Şık during the MHP group meeting on June 8 were libelous, insulting, cursing and leading to enmity before the public. They have also added that Şık was openly turned into a target and threatened with death.

Recalling previous statements of Devlet Bahçeli targeting journalists, the petition of Şık's attorneys has read, "It is a fact that the similar statements of the suspect led to actual attacks and his remarks about the client have the characteristics of provoking and mobilizing the persons who want to make an attempt on the client's life. For this reason, it is impossible to consider the statement of the suspect within the scope of freedom of expression."

'Calumny by distorting Şık's words'

It has been further indicated that Bahçeli distorted the remarks of Ahmet Şık, which constitutes the crime of "calumny" as per the Article 267 of the TCK. Şık's attorneys have noted that the remarks of TİP MP Şık during an interview were distorted in such a way that he was portrayed as if he had links to "terrorism" and that he was defined as a "traitor and separatist."

What did Bahçeli say?

At the weekly Parliamentary group meeting of the MHP this week, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli insulted and targeted Şık briefly as follows:

"What will we do in the face of a TİP MP's slanders of 'This state is a murderer, we have to topple this state; yes, the state of the Republic of Turkey is a murderous state'? Won't we lift the immunity of this traitor and hand him over directly to justice?

"Can you imagine? Such a despicable man breathes the same air as us at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. This ignoble person who calls the state a murderer benefits from every means of the state and receives his salary from the treasury of the state.

"Encouraged by the indifference of the HDP, this culprit should now that if the Republic of Turkey was a murderer, his place would not be the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, but the cemetery.

"We cannot tolerate these. We cannot stand these ignoble types. The place where this separatist who sees every policy that will undermine the government ... legitimate belongs is not the roof of the Veteran Parliament, but behind bars."

Two investigations against Ahmet Şık

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has recently filed two separate investigations against Ahmet Şık earlier this week (June 7).

One of the investigations concerns his comments about crime group leader Sedat Peker's online confessions on mafia-state relations in Turkey.

Interviewed by fellow journalist Ruşen Çakır on Medyascope TV, Şık said, "I was always called 'the man who called the state a murderer.' Yes, brother, the state is a murderer. Those who were angry with me because I said this now watch videos of Sedat Peker where he tells the state is a murderer and they say 'Oh yeah?' or applaud him... Yes, the state of Turkey is a murderer, that's it. Just as the other states of the world... The history of all states is bloody. Turkey is not independent of that."

The other investigation has been launched into Şık's remarks during a program on TELE1 TV ahead of the March 2019 local elections:

"Let me be clear, if the AKP and this ruling bloc are patriots and I'm a terrorist, I welcome terrorists rather than being a patriot like them," he said. "Every policy that would weaken this ruling power, everything to break its canine teeth, to pull its grinder teeth are justified."

Reacting to the investigations, Şık tweeted, "If I'm to be criticized/tried because of my statement that the state is a killer, this should be for my deficient assessment. Because the state is a murderer that commits serial murders. There is no state that doesn't have blood in its hands."

AKP: What is he doing at Parliament?

Ruling AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik responded to the investigations launched against Şık while he was addressing the reporters following the AKP's Central Executive Committee meeting on June 7:

"That a person in the capacity of an MP calls the state a murderer... Where do we know this wording? It is a wording used by armed terrorist organizations. If he thinks like that, what is he doing at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey? Such hypocrisy is unacceptable.

"Calling a state murder is an attack on the legitimacy granted by the nation of that state. What is done here is not criticism anyway. An investigation has already been launched. If that is true, you said that the opposition does not react; some from the opposition claim him as their friend."

In response to this statement targeting him and questioning his place at the Parliament, TİP MP Ahmet Şık has said, "In order to fight against a gang disguised as a political party..." (KÖ/SD)