Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy wins symbolic lawsuit against CHP Deputy

A Turkish court has ruled in favor of Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy in a symbolic lawsuit against CHP Istanbul Deputy Oğuz Kaan Salıcı. The court ordered Salıcı to pay 5 kuruş in moral damages plus legal interest.

The legal dispute originated from a social media post by Salıcı in March 2025, in which he alleged that a tourism plot in Antalya Kundu had been allocated to Minister Ersoy by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, bypassing environmental impact assessment requirements.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism refuted these claims, providing documentation stating that the land had been allocated to two separate companies by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 1997, long before Ersoy’s current tenure. The Ministry clarified that the involvement of ETS was through the acquisition of shares in the existing rights holder rather than a new public allocation. While Salıcı’s legal team argued the post was within the bounds of criticism, the court rejected the request to dismiss the case.