Erdogan says opposition CHP leader to face court

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) - Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu was to face court over allegations of corruption against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaling what critics deem as widening the scope of a crackdown on political rivals.

Late last month, Kilicdaroglu claimed that immediate family members of Erdogan had offshore accounts of firms valued at over 15 millions of US dollars in the Isle of Man.

"You cannot dishonor Tayyip Erdogan and his family by shaking a handful of fake documents. You will be called to account in front of the judiciary. The day is nearing," Erdogan said, referring to the CHP leader, during a public rally in the northwestern province of Yalova.

Public-owned TRT TV that was airing Kilicdaroglu's speech at his parliamentary group abruptly cut off the broadcast when he began producing documents proving the alleged corruption.

"He will, apart from an explanation for judicial authorities, see how his slanders wrap around his neck," President said about Kilicdaroglu.

President's attack on his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) main rival follows last week dismissal by the Interior Ministry of the mayor of a CHP-held municipality in Istanbul's Atasehir district.

Mayor Battal Izgeldi was expelled from his elected post over allegations of corruption, charges he and his party have denied.

"Kilicdaroglu, I am openly telling; you are finished," said the hawkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu after the former's remarks in which he vowed to "disgrace" the President.

Erdogan called Kilicdaroglu "numbskull" and declared "more" was to come for the CHP which he described as "the main treason party."

An ongoing trial at a US federal court in New York of Turkish government-affiliated figures accused of helping Iran evade American sanctions, too, has become a matter of contention between the government and opposition.

Rising tensions in the Turkish political arena gained pace in recent months, with Erdogan trying to preserve his popular base while the opposition parties, including the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), continue to challenge his administration in the run-up to the three 2019 presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

HDP has already been under a country-wide crackdown that has led to the imprisonment of its Co-leader Selahattin Demirtas, nine other lawmakers, over 80 mayors, and seven thousand members.

Five Kurdish MPs have been ousted from the Parliament for having been convicted of alleged terror-related crimes.

One CHP lawmaker Enis Berberoglu has been delivered 25 years in prison for allegedly assisting the publication of footage of a 2014 weapons delivery by the Turkish intelligence via trucks to Islamist groups fighting in Syria.

Editing by Sam A.