Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Collected

ISTANBUL, April 8, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed a criminal complaint alleging he was insulted by the main opposition party chief, who has argued the nation is run by a "junta", the Turkish leader's lawyer said on Tuesday.

"A criminal complaint was filed to the general prosecutor's office in Ankara for insulting the president" targeting Ozgur Ozel, head of the CHP opposition party, Erdogan's lawyer Huseyin Aydin said.

At a CHP meeting on Sunday, Ozel said that "Turkey is governed by a junta that is afraid of elections, afraid of its opponents and afraid of the nation."

Erdogan is "the president of a junta that targets those who have the support of the people and those who could become his rivals," added Ozel, denouncing the arrest and imprisonment last month of the CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, the president's main rival.

The offence of "insulting the president" is frequently alleged in Turkey, sometimes against ordinary internet users.