Akın Gürlek, who sentenced Demirtaş to prison, becomes Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor

Deputy Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek has been appointed as the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor. The current Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, Şaban Yılmaz, has been appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors.

Gürlek is known as the judge who sentenced figures such as Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul Provincial Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu and former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş to prison.

According to a report by İsmail Saymaz from Halk TV, Gürlek, who previously served as the presiding judge at the Istanbul 37th High Criminal Court and later at the 14th High Criminal Court, is known as a judge who sparked controversy in trials involving opposition figures. Gürlek had tried CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu on five separate charges based on her Twitter posts and sentenced her to 9 years, 8 months, and 20 days in prison.

HE HAD SENTENCED DEMİRTAŞ TO PRISON

Gürlek had also sentenced former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş to 4 years and 8 months in prison for the crime of "propagating for a terrorist organization."

Gürlek, who did not implement the Constitutional Court's (AYM) ruling on the violation of rights regarding Enis Berberoğlu, had decided that there was no need for a retrial for Berberoğlu. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had accused Gürlek of being the "new Zekeriya Öz" after the AYM's Berberoğlu ruling was not implemented. Gürlek also lost the 75,000 TL compensation lawsuit he filed against Kılıçdaroğlu due to these remarks. The AYM had unanimously ruled that Berberoğlu's right to be elected and engage in political activity, as well as his right to personal liberty and security, had been violated.