Erdogan client of the law firm that produced “Syria Torture Photos”

Editor's Comment: True to mission and form, CNN and other corporate media villainize President Assad as they had done with Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi. After their claims of the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons against civilians have been roundly disproved, they've now trumped up new charges of the government's torture of political prisoners. That Turkish PM Erdoğan and his London-based law firm fabricated the "torture photos" to open the path for war comes as no surprise. We can only hope that world opinion and Russia's defense of Syria will not permit the bombing and complete destruction of the country.

- Les Blough, Editor
Axis of Logic

Syrian negotiators at Geneva-2 claim that the torture pictures disclosed two days before the [Geneva] conference are faked while a CHP spokesman states that the law office which presented the pictures also represents PM Erdoğan.

Syria: Photo Scheme Reminds of Iraq Propaganda

Syrian negotiators in Geneva-2 speaking to Aydınlık Newspaper stated that they take the pictures which were released 3 days ago seriously and demanded a close examination to prove their authenticity. Authorities claimed that the pictures in question evoke the fact that Colin Powell, former American Minister of Foreign Affairs had turned in similar faked pictures of weapons of mass destruction to UN before the invasion of Iraq.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of main opposition party CHP, Haluk Koç held a press conference claiming that PM Erdoğan is a client of the law firm which disclosed the torture pictures.

Carter-Ruck, the law firm based in London, is the source of the questionable report on Syria. The fact that the State of Qatar is its major client, along with a number of Qatar-centered companies, has attracted a great deal of attention on the profile and history of the firm.

Regarding the issue, the CHP’s spokesman Mr Koç held a press conference and raised concerns over the fact that PM Erdoğan is also one of the top clients of the aforementioned law firm. Mr Erdoğan was represented by the firm in 2011 against the British Daily Telegraph newspaper, on charges of insulting him in public. The British high court ruled that the newspaper had not grounded its allegations on a concrete basis and the story was inaccurate, and decided that the British daily newspaper should pay compensation worth £25,000 to Erdoğan. At the press conference, Mr Koç said:

“Those who both tortured and support the civil war will be held responsible before history. Unfortunately, Turkey is also going to take its share from this responsibility.”

Mr Koç continued his speech by calling attention to the fact that the images of torture in Syria were disclosed to the press by CNN International and the Guardian, claiming that the evidence in the report prepared by Carter-Ruck came from a military policeman known only as ‘Caesar’. The CHP spokesman made a statement on the issue: “Does PM Erdoğan have any kind of relationship with the law firm called Carter Ruck? Has he ever contacted this London-based law firm before as a client?” asked Koç. “On 15 September 2010, the British Daily Telegraph wrote, ‘Iran gave 25 million dollars to AKP’. The Prime Minister responded to the newspaper harshly. A law firm sent a letter to the editor of the newspaper demanding that the newspaper apologize to PM Erdoğan. A lawyer of the firm which released the pictures, Cameron Dolay, has a short statement on the website of Carter Ruck. After that, the newspaper apologized for misinforming the public in 2011. Who applied to this firm as a client? PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Yasin

Qadı, Yusuf al-Qaradawi and some other people connected with al-Qaeda. Enlighten the public about who these other people are as clients of this firm. Erdoğan has to justify how he formed a mutual client basis in this firm in London with Yusuf al-Qaradawi and other al-Qaeda affiliated people. That firm is not unfamiliar with the Prime Minister.”

According to the news of the British Guardian newspaper published on 16 October 2013, a group of Saudi businessmen pressed charges of defamation against the newspapers, which they claimed presented them as being al-Qaeda affiliates. Those businessmen were Khalid Bin Mahfouz, the founder of the National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia and his son Abdurrahman, Rashid al-Ghannushi the leader of Ennahda Movement in Tuniia, and Yasin al-Qadi. This group came together and sued newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal Europe, the British Sunday Times and others. One of the law firms representing these Saudi businessmen was none other than Carter-Ruck.

Another of the clients of Carter Ruck was the International Islamic Relief Organization (IHH), an Islamic NGO which has also been accused of ties to al-Qaeda.

Source: Aydinlik Daily – Edt. Ch/L - nsnbc 25.01.2014

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