[TODAYSZAMAN] An Ankara court has ruled for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
to pay the legal expenses of main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, whom Erdogan had sued for TL 100,000 in damages for saying the president has gold toilets in his palace.
According to a report in the Hurriyet daily on Thursday, the Ankara 27th Court of First Instance announced its reasoned decision in the "gold toilet" case, which was dismissed on the first hearing. The reasoned decision said the Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) leader's remarks were criticisms of the governments' excessive expenses and should be regarded as political criticism.
The court also ruled for Erdogan to pay Kilicdaroglu's TL 10 court expenses and TL 1,500 in attorney's fees.
Kilicdaroglu claimed in May Erdogan's controversial palace had golden toilets. The president slammed the claims and invited the opposition leader, who wowed to never set foot in the palace which he and many other critics claim is illegal, to inspect the toilets in the palace. In response, the CHP reiterated its leader has no intention of visiting the "illegally built" palace.
Erdogan had filed the lawsuit against Kilicdaroglu on June 2.
Erdogan moved into the controversial 1,000-room palace complex after winning the presidential election in 2014. He was heavily criticized for residing in the palace as it was built in violation of a court decision ordering a halt on construction because it was in an environmentally protected zone.