Former Turkish opposition leader's lawyer denies sex video allegations

A lawyer representing the former head of Turkey's main opposition party said Thursday that the video at the center of a scandal that led to the leader's resignation is a fake. Former Republican People's Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal resigned May 10 following the Internet broadcasting of a sex video allegedly showing him with his then-secretary Nesrin Baytok, who is now a parliamentary deputy.

"We do not believe that the people on the tape are Baykal and Baytok," broadcaster CNNTürk cited Muzaffer Yılmaz, Baykal's lawyer, as saying on its Web site.

Uğur Kurtulan, director of a private criminal office based in London and Turkey, spoke with Yılmaz at the press conference and supported his claims.

"We think that the display is received via transmitter camera and modified. It is impossible to prove that the people on the tape are Baykal and Baytok," Kurtulan said.

"It is obvious that the tape is a fake," Yılmaz said. "Baykal behaved honorably and resigned."


/Hurriyet Daily News/