Turkish court seizes assets of former CHP head Kılıçdaroğlu over SADAT defamation case

The Turkish "defense consultant" SADAT has announced a court seized assets of former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu after he lost a 1 million lira defamation lawsuit. The case followed Kılıçdaroğlu’s 2022 claims that SADAT was a "paramilitary group" training "terrorists."

Friday December 27 2024 09:00 pm

Kılıçdaroğlu in 2022 gives a press statement in front of the SADAT HQ in Istanbul after being denied entry.

Duvar English

The Board of Directors of International Defense Consulting Construction Industry and Trade Inc. (SADAT) announced that the former chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, lost a one million Turkish lira defamation lawsuit filed against him over his statements calling it a "paramilitary organization."

Kılıçdaroğlu'na Haciz
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu mahkum olduğu tazminat bedelini ödemeyince, Hukuk Büromuz Kılıçdaroğlu’nun mal varlıklarına, alacaklı olduğu çeşitli davalardaki alacaklarına ve tüm banka hesaplarına icra yoluyla haciz koymuştur.https://t.co/ZK2DkojXw3 pic.twitter.com/fAtPU16IOD
— SADAT Defense (@SADATdefense) December 27, 2024

The statement claimed that Kılıçdaroğlu's assets, claims from ongoing lawsuits, and all bank accounts were seized through legal enforcement after he failed to pay the compensation within 1.5 years.

SADAT Chairman Melih Tanrıverdi shared on social media, "Enforcement shock for Kılıçdaroğlu. We collected the compensation owed to us through legal enforcement after he lost the 1 million lira lawsuit we filed against him."

What happened?

On May 13, 2022, Kılıçdaroğlu, accompanied by CHP lawmakers, visited SADAT's headquarters in Istanbul, seeking to meet with company officials. Denied entry, Kılıçdaroğlu made a statement outside the building, saying, "Turkey will never be handed over to paramilitary organizations, institutions, or individuals. SADAT, before which we now stand, is a paramilitary organization."

"Until recently, these people served as Erdoğan's advisers. Among the objectives of this organization is irregular warfare training, including sabotage, ambush, raids, destruction, assassination, and terror tactics. This is an organization that trains terrorists," he claimed.

Following Kılıçdaroğlu's visit and statements, SADAT filed a lawsuit demanding 1 million lira in damages from the CHP leader.

The local court partially upheld the lawsuit and ruled that only 30,000 liras in non-pecuniary damages, along with legal interest accruing from May 13, 2022, be collected from defendant Kılıçdaroğlu and paid to plaintiff SADAT.

SADAT was founded in 2012 by former Turkish brigadier general Adnan Tanrıverdi, who was expelled from the military in 1996 because of his suspicions about Islamist activities.

Tanrıverdi served as an adviser to Erdoğan before being forced to resign from his post in January 2020 after telling a religious conference that SADAT was paving the way for the coming of the Mahdi, a messianic figure some Muslims believe will redeem mankind before the world ends.

The organization allegedly transported weapons to the radical Islamist terrorist organization al-Nusra in Syria, and defines itself as "a company that provides consultancy and military training in the field of defense."