Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun has filed a lawsuit against writer Ragıp Zarakolu and Arti Media company over a column in which the writer criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan via comparing him to former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who was executed by hanging.
Zarakolu’s column titled “No Escape from Ill Fate” was published in news website Artı Gerçek, a subsidiary of Arti Media, and daily Evrensel on May 5. The column criticized Erdoğan.
The petition submitted by Altun’s lawyer Sezgin Tunç to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accused Zarakolu of “explicitly threatening Erdoğan with coup and execution.” The petition demanded that prosecutors launch a criminal case against Zarakolu and Arti Media.
Earlier on May 5, several officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) slammed Zarakolu, with Altun saying: “We stand with our President, who doesn’t bow down to this sick mentality and threats, to the end.”