We've Seen It All: A 'Confidentiality' Order in an 'Insulting the President' Investigation!..

While the government claims we are making great strides in the judiciary and justice system, practices that overturn the most fundamental rules of law are being implemented every day. Such as the Supreme Court of Appeals not recognizing Constitutional Court (AYM) rulings, or local courts ignoring decisions from the AYM and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Well, have you ever heard of a "confidentiality" order being issued in the hundreds of thousands of "insulting the President" cases?

It happened: a "confidentiality" order was issued in the case of former AKP deputy Hüseyin Kocabıyık, who was arrested on October 7 on charges of "insulting the President."

What is the "crime" of Kocabıyık, who resides in Ankara and allegedly committed the crimes there, but was detained on the instructions of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and arrested by the Istanbul Duty Criminal Court of Peace?

As stated in the decision of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it concerns 6 posts he made on his social media account on March 19, September 21, September 27, September 25, and October 2, as well as an interview he gave to Cumhuriyet Newspaper on October 6.

Four of the posts in question were criticisms of the operation targeting Ekrem İmamoğlu and the opposition, while two were questions/comments regarding what Trump said about Erdoğan.

The sections of Kocabıyık's interview with Cumhuriyet that were considered criminal elements are as follows:

"Whatever kind of coup was staged against Tayyip Erdoğan on February 28, what is being done to Ekrem İmamoğlu is also a coup... The February 28 coup carried him to the prime ministry, to where he is today. Now he is doing something even harsher than what was done to him to his rival... I have no acquaintance with Ekrem İmamoğlu. I have no political affiliation with him. I come from the right-wing tradition. He is from the CHP. Because he is a presidential candidate and has a high probability of being elected, he is being subjected to political liquidation by yesterday's victim, Tayyip Erdoğan. This is what I see. Erdoğan is doing this through the judiciary. And to cover up the political liquidation and what he calls 'elimination,' he builds the scenario on corruption allegations... Erdoğan is moving away from democracy and the rule of law; he is throwing his rival in jail, just like Putin does."

In short, while the "evidence" had been identified and Kocabıyık had admitted to making these posts and giving the interview, three days after his arrest, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office wrote to the court requesting a "confidentiality" order for the file. The court accepted the Prosecutor's request, stating, "considering the allegations subject to the investigation and the current state of evidence in the file, and taking into account the reasons that could jeopardize the purpose of the investigation," and imposed a restriction on "the right of the parties in the file and their defense attorneys to examine and obtain copies of the documents in the investigation file."

Another remarkable point in the Kocabıyık file is that although the charge is "insulting the President," the investigation was conducted by the terrorism prosecutor's office.

Since a confidentiality order was imposed, it is unknown whether the file was subsequently sent to the general investigation bureau; however, we have learned this: the indictment against Kocabıyık has been prepared and sent to the court.

He Explained These During His Interrogation

Since the country's agenda flows like a wild river, the arrest of a former AKP deputy on these charges and in this manner was discussed for at most 48 hours before falling off the agenda.

Therefore, let us first convey his statement given via SEGBİS from Ankara to the Criminal Court of Peace, where he was referred with a request for arrest. In summary, he said:

"I have been a public figure known to everyone throughout my entire life. In my younger years, I served as a consultant to Çiller and her government. I served as an opinion leader. I have not deviated for a single moment from my 30-35 year life path. I am someone who believes in a constitutional state. This is for the existence of the Turkish nation. I believe in the rule of law. I think that if these are eroded, the survival of the Turkish Nation will be in danger. When I think the state is in constitutional danger, I criticize everyone. In my tweets, I start and end by saying 'I am warning,' 'I am advising.' I have never even considered any position. I am a person who knows the state. I do not criticize the head of state. I have made my warning criticisms because I see the person who is the head of the executive branch as responsible for unconstitutional and unlawful developments. This is not just my right as an intellectual and writer, but my duty. I did my duty. While doing this, I did not hurt anyone's honor, I did not make anything personal. My goal is entirely to criticize the shortcomings in the constitutional state, which is at the center of my life, as a politician and an intellectual. I do not accept anything else beyond this."

His lawyer, Ramazan Başdoğan, also emphasized that words and thoughts were being punished, and that contrary to the accusations, Kocabıyık was targeting the dignity of the Presidency in his posts, saying, "If you examine all his tweets one by one and compare them with the Turkish Language Association Dictionary, it will be seen that they contain no criminal elements."

What Could Be the Reason for Confidentiality?

Returning to the confidentiality order placed on the file; his mobile phone was also seized, but Kocabıyık did not provide the password.

What is being sought, I wonder?

It is not the tweets, but in his interview with Cumhuriyet, the most impactful part was the headline "They silence by providing benefits" and his words: "Everyone has been brought into a relationship of interest with the state in some way. That is, someone's wife, someone's daughter, someone's son, son-in-law, grandchild... The AK Party is distributing something to everyone." But, interestingly, these allegations were not made the subject of the accusation.

In the interview, there was another section just before these statements; he had said, "There are very respectable people in the AK Party who see moving away from the law and the corruption of the judiciary as very harmful for Turkey. But they express their criticisms in private conversations, not in front of the public or the party's authorized bodies."

Who knows, perhaps they are curious about who Kocabıyık met with from the AKP and who made these complaints!..

Kocabıyık's Record (!) Is Also Extensive

Let's also look at Hüseyin Kocabıyık's record.

In his interview with Cumhuriyet, after the sentence "The AK Party is distributing something to everyone," he noted the following:

"They gave it to me too. Indeed, because I objected to certain things, they took it back."

He answered the question "What had they given you?" as follows:

"They had made my wife a governor. At that time, two minister friends called me and joked, 'How we nailed you to the ground.' This is the system. There is always something that someone who objects will lose... I had also shown a reaction for Osman Kavala. I don't know Osman Kavala either... I said, 'Today, work is being done that is contrary to the AK Party's acquis, program, charter, and declarations. The judiciary is being used for politics. Do not do this. Mr. President, you prevent this.' After this call of mine, no one asked me, 'Friend, why did you say such a thing?' but they immediately tried to hit me through my wife. They supposedly punished me."

Yes, this was the first "punishment" handed down to Kocabıyık in 2022; shortly after those posts, the Ministry of Interior announced that his wife, Funda Kocabıyık, who was the Governor of Uşak, had been temporarily assigned to the ministry!..

Expulsion Without Defense

Last March, Hüseyin Kocabıyık was referred to the Central Disciplinary Board with a request for expulsion from the AKP on charges of "acting against democracy and the law" because he criticized the investigation process regarding Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Meanwhile, MHP Deputy Chairman and Istanbul Deputy İzzet Ulvi Yönter, a partner of the People's Alliance, also made a statement saying, "We have noted you."

When Kocabıyık sent his written defense to the AKP Headquarters within the time limit, he learned that not only was there no one to receive it, but the expulsion decision had already been made. In other words, he was kicked out of the AKP without his defense being taken.

"Minarets Were Toppled, Domes Were Collapsed"

So, what had Kocabıyık said in that defense?

The following:

"I am being requested to be expelled from the AK Party on the allegation of 'participating in, supporting, or personally engaging in activities and actions contrary to the party charter and program, and the universal fundamental rules and norms of democracy, human rights, and law.' If your board is basing my expulsion on this justification, it is clearly being ironic and displaying a great lack of seriousness. Throughout my entire life, as well as during the time I engaged in politics in the AK Party, I believed in the values contained in the AK Party's founding declaration and program; I fought for democracy, law, and human rights. In fact, the current problem is that the AK Party has started to pursue politics that are clearly contrary to these principles and values. I do not need any defense, because everyone knows everything. However, I see benefit in recording these points for the archive of political history: The AK Party is a political organization that has served the Turkish Nation for a significant part of its long years in power. It has also led historical developments in terms of universal values such as democracy, law, and human rights. Indeed, democrats like us supported the AK Party because of this mission, leaving our own political tribes. However, in recent times, the party has followed a political path contrary to all the values that brought it into existence. Essentially, all our objections are against this development. In this process; disloyalty was shown to all the values contained in the party's founding declaration, program, and charter. Disobedience was shown to the current Constitution of the Republic of Turkey. The decisions of the Constitutional Court were not complied with. ECHR decisions were not recognized, even though they are constitutional provisions. A judicial order serving personal political ambitions was created. Law and justice were discredited. The AK Party was put at legal risk with attitudes and political decisions contrary to Article 24 of the Constitution [freedom of religion and conscience - MY]. Instead of developing our democracy, its boundaries were narrowed. Opposition elements, journalists, intellectuals, and students were tried to be disciplined by being thrown into jail. Finally, political rivals were tried to be liquidated through the judiciary, forgetting what we ourselves had experienced. It was never wondered why some people who were executives and deputies in this party became rich. As a result; Minarets were toppled. Domes were collapsed. Conversation was removed from mosques. Believers were turned into soldiers of an unjust order. I am about to be expelled from a political party that has been turned into this state. I have put a lot of effort and shed a lot of sweat for the Justice and Development Party. There are also many values that this party has gained for me. First and foremost, I met good people and friends. And of course, I am leaving with some good memories that I will protect until the end of my life. The lines above and the findings of this nature were not written with the concern of opposition. I hope the Justice and Development Party starts defending the values in its founding texts and program again, returns to its old days, and continues to serve the Turkish Nation. This is my sincere wish. This is all I have to say. Respectfully."

It is not something to be swallowed... It is many times harsher than the tweets and the Cumhuriyet interview that were used as the justification for his arrest... Moreover, after his expulsion, he shared this on his social media account so that it would enter the "Turkey archive"... But interestingly, no investigation was opened at that time!..

What Did He Do on July 15?

Let's share one last note about Kocabıyık, whose record (!) is so extensive.

It is known that after the TRT was taken back during the July 15 coup attempt, he said on live broadcast, "Everyone has protected democracy," but while some were writing a heroic epic about him, it is said that Kocabıyık never told some things.

Like what, you ask?

According to allegations, he was one of the first names to go to the Çankaya Mansion that night. He was the one who brought the proposal, "We must open the Parliament immediately," at the meeting held. He did not receive much support other than from Süleyman Soylu. Most remained silent, and a very important name said, "If we go to the Parliament, they will kill us."

Kocabıyık has been under arrest for 35 days on charges of insulting Erdoğan. We will finally learn what the subjects of the accusation were, but especially why a confidentiality order was placed on the file, when the indictment is accepted!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

November 11, 2025