Timothy Ash says Turkey closed Erdogan insult probe

British economist Timothy Ash said Thursday that Turkish authorities had closed an investigation into him over alleged insult of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“I have been informed that the Turkish authorities have closed any investigation around comments I made in Bodrum,” Ash wrote on X. “They looked into the case and there was no merit to the allegations.” He added: “No case. End of story. Period.”

Turkish prosecutors have not commented.

The private DHA news agency had earlier reported that the chief public prosecutor's office in Istanbul's Bakirkoy district had started a probe against Ash, an emerging markets economist, over remarks he made at a meeting. DHA said the investigation concerned alleged insult of the president, but did not report the exact words at issue.

Turkish media reported that Ash had used Erdogan's name in the same context as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A video from the meeting at the Turkish resort shows Ash mentioning Netanyahu and Erdogan in remarks about “sociopathic leaders” before immediately saying: “Oops I didn't say that. Take that back. Stop video.”

Ash told AFP earlier that the meeting was under Chatham House rules and that the remark was “a slip of the tongue” that he retracted immediately. In another post on X, he said Erdogan had “stood up valiantly for Gaza & Palestinians” and added: “No comparison to Netanyahu.”

Turkish authorities have broadened a crackdown in recent years on people seen as critical of Erdogan's government or its values. Tens of thousands of people, including musicians, artists, journalists and politicians, have faced legal investigations for insulting the president. In July, an Istanbul court put Turkish comedian Deniz Goktas in pre-trial detention on charges of insulting Erdogan.