CHP leader slams justice minister over İmamoğlu case

ANKARA

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel has strongly criticized Justice Minister Akın Gürlek over legal proceedings that resulted in the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, describing them as part of a political operation against the main presidential opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Özel, at a press conference devoted to İmamoğlu’s detention over alleged corruption which will mark its first anniversary on March 19, targeted Justice Minister Gürlek who launched the case against the Istanbul Mayor during his tenure as the Istanbul chief prosecutor.

“His appointment to the office of the Istanbul chief prosecutor was totally linked with the ruling party’s plans to stop İmamoğlu and the CHP’s march to the power,” Özel said.

Gürlek, who was deputy justice minister until 2024, was appointed to Istanbul as the chief prosecutor only months after İmamoğlu’s victory in local elections in late 2024, Özel recalled, arguing that it was the start of a legal operation against the CHP’s mayors in Istanbul and other big cities, including Antalya, Adana and Mersin.

The CHP leader also recalled that Gürlek did also serve as a judge in Istanbul in the last decade and approved many unlawful verdicts in important cases, including the sentencing of former head of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş.

“This case on Demirtaş and former lawmaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder were all overturned by the Constitutional Court anonymously. According to our laws, a judge whose cases are overturned cannot be promoted to other positions for a certain period of time,” he said.

During the press conference, Özel did also explain the assets of Gürlek, including the property deeds with a total value of 325.5 million Turkish Liras.

“To accumulate this much wealth, a judge, even a first-degree judge, would need to work non-stop for 190 years. But the resourceful Mr. Akın accomplished all this in just 19 years,” he said, calling on the Justice Minister to respond to his claims in an open way.