Erdogan’s son threatens legal action for article claiming aid to IS

The son of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is calling on CNBC to remove an article in which it accuses him of providing funds to an aid group that’s assisting the Islamic State and “publish an apology, and pay a substantial amount of damages and all the legal costs.”

In an article entitled “Why is Turkey supporting Islamic State fighters in Iraq?” David L. Philips says that “Bilal Erdogan “has ties to the IHH board, and allegedly uses his father’s political network to raise funds for the organization.” Philips notes the IHH’s funding of extremist groups in the past and of Syrian Islamist groups, including the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS.

Erdogan’s agent told Daily Sabah, whose parent company is owned by the prime minister’s son-in-law, that the CNBC article was politically motivated and all charges are false.

“Mr Erdogan has no ‘ties’ to IHH. He has never been involved with IHH nor sat on IHH’s board. He has not been involved in fundraising for IHH, whether using his father’s political contacts or otherwise,” the agent says in a statement.

IHH is best known in Israel for being behind a flotilla to break the Gaza blockade in 2010. One of the boats, the Mavi Marmara, was the scene of a violent melee between Israeli troops and Turkish activists, nine of whom died in the scuffle. Several soldiers were also injured.

Last week, the group said it would launch another flotilla aimed at busting the naval blockade.