Prosecutors in Ankara have launched an investigation into main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel over remarks he made about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a rally in the Aegean town of Kuşadası.
The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office said the probe was opened on charges of “insulting the president,” citing Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The investigation centers on Özel’s speech in which he directly addressed Erdoğan, accusing him of abandoning a legacy of electoral success in favor of pursuing undemocratic actions. In his remarks, Özel alleged that Erdoğan had chosen to act like a “coup leader” and said he would be "remembered in history with shame" for those actions.
Senior CHP members condemned the investigation, describing it as an attempt to silence dissent.
CHP deputy chair Burhanettin Bulut said the move reflected an intolerance of criticism and accused authorities of using the judiciary as a tool of pressure.
“We will not take a single step back, nor will we say a single word less,” Bulut said in a post on X.
Another CHP deputy leader, Gül Çiftci, also criticized the probe, saying the party’s rallies reflected the will of the people and could not be suppressed through investigations or legal pressure.
“The will of the people rising in the squares cannot be silenced by pressure, investigations or indictments,” Çiftci said, adding that the probe would not deter the party or its leader.
The investigation comes amid heightened political tensions between Özel and Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.
On March 17, the CHP leader claimed Gürlek owned 12 properties across Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Çanakkale, and had sold four others, with a total value of 452 million liras.
"There is no inheritance from his father. How was this wealth, solely in terms of real estate, accumulated with a civil servant’s salary?" he said at the time. Gürlek has rejected the claims as “fictitious” and “slanderous.”
Gürlek was appointed justice minister on Feb. 11 after serving as Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor, where he has led high‑profile trials against several CHP members.
Dozens of officials from CHP‑run municipalities have been detained on corruption charges they deny. Among them was Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested on the same day he was named as the party's candidate for the next presidential elections.
