Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a DEM Party MP for Kocaeli, wrote on X on 16 September 2026 that he has filed hundreds of criminal complaints with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office over social media posts containing serious insults, threats and abuse directed at him.
He said the office issues non-prosecution decisions on those complaints, including where the content is openly insulting and abusive. He wrote that if he is attacked, injured or killed, responsibility will lie with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, and said he wanted the public and the press to know this. He tagged the Ministry of Justice.
The prosecutor’s office has not publicly responded. No figures for the number of complaints or their outcomes have been published.
One earlier instance among many is documented. In November 2023, Alaattin Çakıcı, who has been convicted of directing an organised crime group, published a social media post naming Gergerlioğlu. Gergerlioğlu filed a complaint on 20 November 2023 for insult and threat. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a non-prosecution decision seven days later. According to reports at the time, the decision stated that there was no concrete evidence sufficient to establish insult and referred to the right of the person complained of not to be stigmatised. The threat allegation was not assessed. The matter was raised in the parliamentary chamber, where the DEM Party group deputy chair called for the prosecutor’s removal.
Gergerlioğlu is a physician and former president of the human rights association MazlumDer, and he works chiefly on prison conditions and rights violations. He posted his statement alongside a press conference he had given the same day on rights violations in prisons.
His own parliamentary seat was revoked in March 2021 following a conviction for sharing a news article. It was restored in July 2021 after the Constitutional Court found that his rights had been violated.
The same prosecution service that has brought proceedings against him is the one he says declines to act on threats made against him.
Sources:
1- Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu on X, 16 Sept 2026: https://x.com/gergerliogluof/status/2100122596746367386
2- Karar, via omerfarukgergerlioglu.com, 16 Sept 2026: https://www.omerfarukgergerlioglu.com/basin/gergerlioglundan-ankara-bassavciligina-tepki-bana-saldiri-olursa-sorumlusu-bassavciliktir/40519/
3- T24, 29 Nov 2023 (2023 non-prosecution decision): https://t24.com.tr/video/alaattin-cakici-hakkindaki-sikayete-7-gunde-takipsizlik-verildi-gerekce-lekelenmeme-hakki,58178
4- Artı Gerçek, Nov 2023: https://artigercek.com/guncel/alaattin-cakicinin-tehdidine-bir-haftada-takipsizlik-karari-gerekce-lekelenmeme-hakki-274986h
