Sharp response from Özgür Özel to Erdoğan: 'It is hard to count what he says when he loses his temper'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel answered journalists' questions after Friday prayers at the İhsan Doğramacı Mosque in Ankara. Here are the highlights from Özel's statements: 

If only the person cursing my religion were a Muslim, I wrote that there is 2022 here, you asked. On January 8, 2022, "Bay Kemal is making someone bark. If you have the guts, come out and silence these barkers. What difference is there between you and street dogs," now the person who uses these expressions is angry at me for this reason.

He says, "He lost his temper and insulted." You saw what was written and drawn by social media trolls, the armies directing those trolls, and some so-called things on the day Ekrem İmamoğlu's wife, child, and father were arrested. I said it is not enough that they put our friends in prison.

They are playing with their dignity. I said, 'Take care of your dog,' Mr. Erdoğan, I said. Everyone knows who I said this to, everyone knows who I said it to.

But here, Mr. Akın Gürlek has something like this. The prosecutor's office told me to bring the issue here so that it would not be discussed because of these allegations about him. I said it in general. If you take it personally, that is your business. He has now filed a compensation lawsuit about this. We will see what he says in the content of the lawsuit, of course. Whatever I said to Akın Gürlek, I said it clearly today. He has filed compensation lawsuits before this as well. He won some, he lost some.

I made plenty of my criticisms on top of the bus that day too.

When I mentioned the other issue, I told Erdoğan, 'Take care of your curs and dogs' to those who attack. That is something else. But he takes it personally, and he even takes the prosecutors along, trying to move the issue here. Now, the point where the issue needs to be moved is very clear, very precise.

Ha, if I were to count what Erdoğan says when he loses his temper—it being a blessed Friday—you could not use it in the evening news.

You could not use it. If there is anyone broadcasting live, they would have to go off the air. It is such indecency that it would not suit my mouth either.

What did Mr. Erdoğan say to us? What did he say to the women of our party, to the people? But when we became Turkey's 1st party last year, what is the point I mainly object to in Erdoğan's speech? What is he saying?

He says, 'Our country's 2nd largest party.' He can only say this regarding the number of members. If he is going to speak by vote percentage, I am the 1st party in the polls today. If he is talking about the last election, I am the 1st party. If he says the first party founded, it is the 1st party. Turkey's 1st party is the Republican People's Party. First, he will internalize this. Then he will come out and tell me to say this, don't say that, etc.

The Republican People's Party is Turkey's 1st party. Other than that, the main issue is this. From here, for the sake of this beautiful day, I say this to Mr. Erdoğan with great respect. There is a constitution in the country you govern.

There are binding provisions in the Constitution regarding the decisions of the Constitutional Court. Despite two articles, a 1st-instance court in the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse, which is the one that took the first decision, is resisting by ignoring that constitution regarding a decision taken on the merits by the Constitutional Court.

Regarding these, the HSK (Council of Judges and Prosecutors), of which your Minister of Justice, whom you appointed, is the head, is not taking any steps.

They have destroyed the legal order in Turkey. This is not only seen in these types of cases. How many important cases is the Constitutional Court looking at, where people claim they have been wronged or that they have not been tried fairly? From now on, there is no such supervision left above the 1st instance...

Let them look here first. Secondly, Akın Gürlek, Article 140 of the constitution of the country you govern says clearly that judges and prosecutors cannot undertake any official or private duties other than their duties, and cannot engage in income-generating activities. Clear.

Akın Gürlek, while he was the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor for 10 months, provided additional income in Euros from the Eti Maden company.

He undertook a duty. Because this firm is in the Wealth Fund, because it is in the Wealth Fund governed by Erdoğan, he also provided income for himself from a firm in the Wealth Fund. He was caught red-handed trying to save himself. We were following today's current events.

He himself said, 'I started this when I was Deputy Minister.' When you look back, we see that he started when he was Deputy Minister and then quit, and that he started a month after becoming a prosecutor and left 4 days after I said on July 2nd that we need to look at the Netherlands and Luxembourg. This is already a crime.

Regarding the part he confessed to, Article 140 of the Constitution, the administrative duties taken by judges and prosecutors are under the Ministry of Justice, and they carry the titles of prosecutor and judge. During this time, they are also subject to the same rules. Akın Gürlek did not leave the profession when he went from Istanbul to the Deputy Ministry. If he had left, his acceptance would have had to be done again now.

Neither of these two transactions exists. Leaving the profession, returning to the profession. That is, he went with the title of judge and prosecutor. He already served as a representative of the Minister of Justice in the HSK. As a Deputy Chairman in the HSK with the title of judge and prosecutor. The Constitution says you cannot do it during that period either. So, I said one thing to Akın Gürlek. He confessed to the second one. Now, the group of judges and prosecutors should normally meet, open an investigation into Akın Gürlek, and appoint an investigator.

Do you have the courage to do this? If the Minister of Justice can do this, let him thank himself with a special press conference. If the Minister of Justice does not do this, what will the HSK do in such a clear violation as the head of the HSK? Why are you electing this HSK? It has emerged that Akın Gürlek, in his own words, while he was a judge and prosecutor, was assigned twice—both as Deputy Minister of Justice and as Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor—and received a salary for 10 months in one and 1.5 years in the other. What more are you talking about? Even if he didn't receive a salary, he couldn't undertake the duty anyway. And he did receive a salary. Yesterday, he brought out his lawyer to someone who could appeal to our party and our masses. That channel is the one where the boss's wife wrote to the WhatsApp group saying 'Don't write KG (breaking news) that will disturb the government.' The channel where journalism is most trampled upon. The channel where journalists are insulted. 'Don't you want KG that will scare the AK Party, friends?' he says. 'What kind of subtitle is this?' he says. 'How many times will I warn you?' he says. In that channel, a friend who appeared on salary brought Akın Gürlek's lawyer in front of him. Look at the relationships. He says, 'No sir, it happened before.' That is also a crime. It didn't happen afterwards. 'No, we applied, and so on and so forth.' Stop the story. You will tell all of these to the investigator. I will see it in the investigator's report. I will see it in the HSK decision. An investigator in the HSK will find a way and say, 'While the constitution is written like this, the law is like this, and these documents are true—which they do not deny are true—Akın Gürlek did not commit a crime according to the HSK,' and then I will believe it. Appoint one, let's see an investigator, let him be questioned. This man opens investigations into everyone, but can there be someone in the country who is exempt from investigation? Is this a privileged man? Is this something? There were such privileged men. Those who are not responsible for the crime they committed. Is this an arena? Are you an emperor in the arena? When you do this, Akın cuts the head off and is not responsible for the murder he committed. Did you do this to Akın? Is Akın your gladiator? If this is a state of law, if he did not follow this rule, if he was caught red-handed, there is no 'tagging' or 'fumbling.' They will open the investigation, they will appoint the investigator, they will give the punishment. We will all see. Then the state of law will be believed. Otherwise, there are so many people in this country. Akın Gürlek only alleges. Friends, he is taking the passports of the wives and children of the people he only alleges against. Without proving the crime, without even writing the indictment, without a trial, without a finalized judicial decision. He still calls İmamoğlu a criminal organization in his statement. To say this, this allegation must be approved in the first instance in the judiciary, in the appellate court, and in the Court of Cassation. Then you can say it. There is such a thing as the presumption of innocence. It is a shame, it is a pity, it is a sin. It is a shameful situation, that is. Ha, if Akın Gürlek is a gladiator who is not responsible for his crimes, assigned by the emperor to commit crimes in Erdoğan's unwritten constitution, and if Ekrem Bey is inside because he did this, tomorrow he will do the same to me. The next day he will do it to him. He will do it to him too. But your turn will come one day. There is no such order. This constitution protects us all. It protects the one at the very top the most. Why? Because he is the one most targeted. Look, there was a coup attempt. They tried to abolish the constitution. Did Akın run? Did Özgür run? To protect the constitutional order that evening. No one is my father's son. We risked our lives. We opened the bombed Parliament, we were bombed by F16s. Why?

News Source: 12punto