An investigation for "insulting the president" has been opened against former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who served from 2014 to 2016 before moving into opposition, Ankara's public prosecutor announced Thursday.
Ahmet Davutoglu © Mena Today
An investigation for "insulting the president" has been opened against former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who served from 2014 to 2016 before moving into opposition, Ankara's public prosecutor announced Thursday.
The prosecutor's office said it had "opened an investigation regarding publications on social media considered to contain insulting remarks toward the president," without providing further details.
An influential foreign minister from 2009 to 2014, when current head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan served as prime minister, Davutoglu led Erdogan's first government following his election as president in 2014.
Long seen as a loyal and compliant ally, he also headed the ruling AKP party, co-founded by Erdogan. But he eventually came to be viewed as a potential rival by the president and was removed from his post as prime minister in 2016.
Davutoglu formally moved into opposition in 2019, founding his own party and rejecting any "cult of personality" while calling for respect for the rule of law — a thinly veiled jab at Erdogan, whom critics accuse of authoritarian drift. Davutoglu, 67, dissolved his party last month and announced his withdrawal from political life.
Tens of thousands of people, including journalists, artists and politicians, have been prosecuted in Turkey in recent years for "insulting the president," sometimes over years-old social media posts.
By Murat Güneş
Turkey's parliament is set on Wednesday to ratify a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that includes a collective defence clause, committing NATO's second-largest army to Riyadh's defence as it faces attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
Behind a carved wooden door on Baghdad’s historic al-Rashid Street, Iraq’s first Jewish museum has opened its doors. Named “Shamash,” it tells the story of a community that once thrived in Iraq for more than 2,500 years, before almost entirely disappearing
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would stop $4 billion in funding to Israel after the end of this year.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.