ISTANBUL: Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched legal proceedings against a French magazine which branded Turkey's president "The Eradicator" after he sent troops into Syria to push back Kurdish forces, media reported Friday. The complaint was filed against Le Point director Etienne Gernelle and the head of the magazine's international service Romain Gubert, the official Anadolu news agency reported. On this week's cover Le Point published a picture of Erdogan giving a military salute with the subtitle "Ethnic cleansing: the Erdogan method", provoking sharp criticism from Turkish government officials. On Thursday, Erdogan, without referring explicitly to Le Point, lashed out at France for criticising the Turkish military action. Last year Le Point said it had suffered harassment and intimidation by Erdogan's supporters after labelling him "The Dictator" on the front cover.

Source: New Strait Times October 25, 2019 10:30 UTC