What happened to the summaries of proceedings against Erdoğan?

We are going through days that are beyond reality and law.

The head of the executive branch and the AKP is giving instructions to "shake up" CHP-run municipalities.

The "shake-up" begins, and corruption operations are carried out. Mayors are being arrested.

Again, the head of the executive branch and the AKP signals further operations against the CHP by saying, "The big turnips are still in the sack."

It is a situation worse than the messages read during the Ergenekon conspiracy, such as "I am the prosecutor of this case"!..

TWO FILES FROM HIS MAYORAL TERM

We forget everything so quickly...

When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, he was also subjected to so many "corruption" accusations, and so many operations were conducted against the municipality and the firms doing business with it.

The result?

Let us remind you of one of them.

You know the journalist and author Ergün Poyraz, who was one of the first names arrested in the Ergenekon conspiracy that began in July 2007 and who spent exactly 6 years and 9 months in Silivri.

Due to his book titled *Musa'nın Çocukları* (Children of Moses), Erdoğan filed a compensation lawsuit against Ergün Poyraz. In the case heard at the Ankara 19th Civil Court of First Instance, Poyraz's lawyer, Hüseyin Buzoğlu, requested that the investigation files concerning Erdoğan be inquired about from the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) and the Ministry of Interior.

In a letter sent by the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Local Administrations to the Ministry's Legal Consultancy on September 20, 2007, it was reported that regarding the former Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: "Under the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants, 55 investigation approvals were obtained between December 7, 1994, and December 3, 1999; as a result of the investigation, a report was prepared by the Civil Inspectors stating that there was no need to open an investigation and the files were closed; and acquittal decisions were given regarding the files for which a summary of proceedings (fezleke) was prepared and transferred to the Governorship for necessary action." After this, it was stated:

"In addition, 25 research/preliminary investigation approvals were obtained under the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants and Other Public Officials, and based on the preliminary investigation reports prepared as a result of the examination, decisions were made by the Ministry's office regarding whether or not to grant permission for an investigation."

From this last part, it is understood that permission for investigation was granted for some of the 25 research/preliminary investigation reports.

Let us come to the letter sent by the TBMM General Secretariat to the Court. In this letter dated January 17, 2008, the following was recorded:

"The subject of the file numbered 3/127, which was submitted to our Presidency for action in accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution regarding Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is neglect of duty, while the subject of the file numbered 3/132 is embezzlement, forgery in public transport tickets, forgery of official documents and records, and forming an organization to commit crimes. A copy of the summaries of proceedings belonging to the two mentioned files is attached."

Let us continue by stating that a Prime Ministry motion was sent for the lifting of Erdoğan's legislative immunity regarding the files in question, and that the Joint Commission composed of members of the Constitutional and Justice Commissions also prepared a report.

On May 27, 2008, Tayfun İçli, the then-DSP Eskişehir Deputy, took the floor in the TBMM General Assembly and made the following speech:

"A moment ago, the immunity files, which my fellow clerk member read rapidly and which I even had difficulty understanding, were read. The event regarding the postponement of the report in the Joint Commission due to crimes defined as 'infamous crimes' by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in particular, was read. Look, allegations are being made against a person regarding embezzlement, rigging official tenders, and forgery, and a summary of proceedings is being prepared on this matter. According to our Constitution, people who have a summary of proceedings against them for committing this crime are again avoiding trial by relying on our Constitution and the numerical power of the AKP. But on the other hand, we do not know why those who have been arrested at different times for twelve months were arrested; there is a publication ban. But it is somehow impossible for them to be tried or to appear before a court. This is what Turkey's agenda should be."

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT?

The year is 2014.

The 173 summaries of proceedings in the TBMM Joint Commission were returned by the TBMM Presidency to the relevant authorities "to be processed according to the law." Among these were three summaries of proceedings belonging to Erdoğan, who had been elected President.

CHP Konya Deputy Atilla Kart stated that the returned files mainly belonged to deputies who were elected mayors in the March 30, 2014 elections and that these people should be tried. Regarding Erdoğan's summaries of proceedings, he said, "It is known that two of Erdoğan's summaries of proceedings relate to his term as Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. In these files, accusations of abuse of office, embezzlement, forgery in public transport tickets, forgery of official documents and records, and forming an organization to commit crimes are made. One file was prepared with the allegation of 'praising crime and criminals' due to the addresses used towards Abdullah Öcalan and the martyrs. None of these accusations regarding the President are related to the performance of his duties. They are accusations of an ordinary nature. In states of law, it is out of the question for there to be a privilege for anyone due to accusations of an ordinary nature. In this context, the issue of 'how' the President will be tried for crimes of an ordinary nature gains importance." After saying this, he asked the following in a motion he submitted for the then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to answer:

"What is the fate of the files related to President Erdoğan that are stated to have been returned to the relevant authorities? Under which legal procedure has action been taken or will it be taken? Given that it is understood that Presidents are also subject to the legislative immunity that deputies are subject to; will you ensure that these summaries of proceedings are transferred back to the TBMM Presidency as soon as possible?"

This motion was not answered within the time limit. In February 2015, Atilla Kart submitted a second motion, using the expressions, "There is a process that confirms that an attempt was made to eliminate-destroy the 3 summaries of proceedings belonging to the President by the state. We do not want to imagine such a possibility. These summaries of proceedings must be transferred to the TBMM Presidency again, and the requirement of the constitutional process must be fulfilled in the Constitutional Commission," and directed the following questions to Davutoğlu:

 "What is the fate of the files related to the 'ordinary' crimes involving the President? Why was our aforementioned motion not answered? In the face of the fact that the failure to answer the motion strengthens the possibility that the files-summaries of proceedings have been eliminated, will you fulfill the responsibility of informing the public with an urgent record?"

Of course, this was not answered either.

WHILE IMMUNITIES WERE BEING LIFTED

Let us come to 2016.

The Constitution was amended, the immunity of all deputies who had summaries of proceedings against them was lifted for one time, and mainly HDP members were tried and arrested.

Before the amendment, Erdoğan said:

"My nation does not want to see parliamentarians who are criminals in this country in this parliament. Especially, we do not want to see those supported by the separatist terrorist organization in this parliament... If a favorable result comes out with today's voting, hopefully, these files will go to the judiciary, and they will say, 'Take them and try them, let them pay the price, whatever it is'."

The then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called on the opposition, "Come, let us all lift the immunities together. There are 506 immunity summaries of proceedings waiting as files in Parliament right now, let us lift them all at once. The AK Party has no files to be afraid of. We are not afraid at all."

The then-CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also announced that they would say "Yes" to the lifting of immunities "even though it is against the Constitution."

As far as we know, there has been no development regarding the summaries of proceedings against Erdoğan during this process either.

We are not accusing anyone; we are just asking what those summaries of proceedings are and what will happen to them, while people are being detained and arrested morning and night for "insulting the President."

Müyesser YILDIZ

January 22, 2025