CHP Chairman Özgür Özel recounts Sırrı Süreyya Önder's Akın Gürlek anecdote: 'He smirked and slapped me with a 3.5-year sentence'

Citizens flocked to the front of the Gazi Cemevi in Sultangazi at the call of Ekrem İmamoğlu, who faces up to 23 centuries in prison in the IMM indictment, and CHP Leader Özgür Özel.

FLASH STATEMENTS FROM CHP CHAIRMAN ÖZEL IN SULTANGAZİ

Tens of thousands of citizens gathered in front of the Gazi Cemevi and called for justice for the imprisoned mayors in unison.

Climbing onto the bus amidst slogans, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel began his statement by saying, "Beautiful Sultangazi, the mirror of Anatolia, the beautiful and brave people of Gazi, Esentepe, Cebeci, and Habibler, welcome to you all," and continued as follows:

"Ever since this 'black order' of the AK Party was established, it has brought no good to women, children, the environment, forests, streams, retirees, laborers, tradespeople, or villagers; but in terms of security and drugs, it has brought no good to Turkey, and especially not to Istanbul or Sultangazi."

"The world is at such a point, at such a point that the whole world is fed up with drugs, and human trafficking, drug trafficking, and arms trafficking are being closely monitored worldwide through an index called the Organized Crime Index. I said this in the parliamentary group yesterday."

"The 2025 report was published just a few days ago. Turkey is ranked 183rd out of 193 countries. We are the 10th country with the highest crime rate in the whole world. Countries with higher crime rates than us are Myanmar, Mexico, Congo, Nigeria, Libya; all of them are just a few countries ahead of us. You wouldn't believe it, but Iraq is behind us. Less crime is committed in Iraq. Afghanistan is behind us, Afghanistan. Cambodia is behind us. Turkey is at such a point that it is a hub country for human trafficking."

"THE INTERIOR MINISTER IS LEAKING INFORMATION FROM BEHIND"

Emphasizing that the AKP is not fighting drugs effectively, Özel said, "We are both a transit country and a target country for drugs, and the use of captagon and methamphetamine, that is, cheap synthetic drugs, has exploded within the country. We are at such a point that, let alone fighting this, it is on everyone's lips that they pretend to be fighting it while certain gangs run wild, are protected, and are shielded," and continued:

"Every new Interior Minister who comes along accuses the previous one of not fighting this well enough or of paving the way for gangs, and leaks information from behind. This one, the previous one, and the one before that. Why? Because the same pen, the same person appoints them all. If the AK Party's and Erdoğan's fight on this issue were sincere, rooting this out would be a matter of determination and time."

"But those who lean one hand on a gang and a shoulder on a criminal organization, and who are busy designing politics instead of imposing justice, do not see this major problem of the country, do not solve it, and unfortunately, they make Sultangazi live in great anxiety. There is only one crime being fought during this government's term. That is the crime of being a democratic threat to the AK Party, the crime of defeating Erdoğan."

"The perpetrator of this crime is Ekrem İmamoğlu. Because he committed this crime three times in a row in Istanbul, he is not here tonight but is lying in Silivri because he will defeat Tayyip Erdoğan for the fourth time and send him into retirement. Those who defeat the AK Party are inside. Journalists who criticize the AK Party are inside."

"CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF KADAŞ: ERDOĞAN"

Stating that while up to 2,352 years of imprisonment are sought for Ekrem İmamoğlu, drug barons are running wild, Özel said, "Young people who protest the AK Party are inside, but drug barons are outside, and street dealers are on every corner. Street dealers are on every corner, barons are on yachts and speedboats, and Mayor Ekrem is in Silivri facing 2,352 years, just because his only crime was defeating him. Just because his only crime was defeating him."

Özel used the term KADAŞ, which he had used before, once again and spoke as follows:

"He really started to manage the country like a company. The name of his company is KADAŞ. Have you heard of KADAŞ? 'Karadüzen' (Black Order) Joint Stock Company. The name of the AK Party's 'Karadüzen' Joint Stock Company is KADAŞ. Stop. Half are booing, half are applauding. First, let's join those who applaud, saying the name KADAŞ fits well. Is KADAŞ good? The AK Party's 'Karadüzen'. Now, boo this 'Karadüzen' as much as you want."

"The AK Party's 'Karadüzen'. The Chairman of the Board of this 'Karadüzen' Joint Stock Company is Mr. Erdoğan. The management is those they feed and appoint. The capital is the retirees, laborers, and workers from whom they collect 89% of the taxes, those whose taxes are deducted before they even receive their salaries."

"ONLY THE INTERESTS OF THE RICH AND THE SEATS THE GENTLEMEN CLING TO ARE SAFE"

"Retirees who give three months' worth of salary to income tax are the ones who earn the income for this company. We are all 86 million. In this 'Karadüzen', some are rich, some are poor. Some are safe, some are not. In the 'Karadüzen', in the AK Party's 'Karadüzen', women are not safe against violence," Özel stated, and continued his words:

"In the AK Party's 'Karadüzen', young people are not safe against drugs. Our workers who die in work accidents every day are not safe. Newborns who are killed for money in incubators, just as they were born for money, are not safe. Soldiers who are martyred due to methane gas, accidents, or hot weather are not safe. Burning forests are not safe. Those swept away by floods are not safe. Those who had cities collapse on them in earthquakes are not safe. Those who fell victim to metro construction are not safe.

The poor person who tries to feed his wife and two children is not safe. The retiree who is given a salary below the hunger threshold is not safe. The tens of millions below the poverty line are not safe. Who is safe? Only the interests of the rich and the seats the gentlemen cling to are safe.

We say it here from Sultangazi. I swear we will change it. I swear we will change it. We will tear down the AK Party's 'Karadüzen'. The era of ministers' children will end. The era of this nation's children will begin. The era of the nation's children. This nation will pull those seats out from under you. It will give the duty and the task to those who deserve it.

The nation will bring to power not those who zeroed out the money, not the shoebox holders, not the 'Bakara-makara' crowd who carry money in clothing bags, but those who use all resources for Sultangazi, those who build nurseries with that money, those who build dormitories, those who give mother cards, those who multiply social support by five, those who love Sultangazi."

"TAYYİP BEY IS ANGRY, BUT 22 YEARS AGO THE LOWEST RETIREE SALARY COULD BUY EIGHT QUARTER GOLD COINS"

Emphasizing that the country's economy has worsened since the AKP came to power, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said, "Turkey is in a never-ending, chronic economic crisis."

Responding in Sultangazi to the criticisms of AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said, "He has gone, he says he is touring all four corners of Turkey. He is wandering from jeweler to jeweler. He is doing gold calculations. Stop the gold calculations," Özel said the following:

"Would I ever stop the gold calculations? No. Why wouldn't I? Does the gold calculation confuse you, sister? Are you a retiree? A retiree. Pull over, brother, look here. Film my brother and sister above the 'Tombul' liquor store. Look, they are right there. Let all of Turkey see. The lowest retiree salary is 16,000 liras. What are you getting? I found someone who gets 16. And where? On the first floor above 'Tombul' Tekel. My brother and sister are there. A round of applause for all retirees. Tayyip Bey is angry, but 22 years ago, the lowest retiree salary could buy eight quarter gold coins.

One and a half quarter gold coins is 16,000 liras, right? Well, can one make a living with this salary? Well, should there be an election now? Well, should there be an election so these people leave and Mayor Ekrem comes? Those days will come, and this retiree's face will smile again. We promise. It's a deal.

80% of the square is retirees, and three-quarters of them are retirees from the lowest bracket. We have fallen from eight quarter gold coins to one and a half quarter gold coins. While a minimum wage earner used to get seven quarter gold coins, it has fallen to two quarter gold coins. Look, we always say this. Yesterday, something very striking came up. In the past, a farmer would sell a kilo of wheat and buy a kilo of diesel. Now, they sell six kilos of wheat to buy one liter of diesel, six kilos.

So, the retiree has fallen from eight to one and a half. The minimum wage earner has fallen from seven to two quarters. The farmer has also fallen from six to one in terms of purchasing power for diesel. On the other hand, a cotton producer, while they used to sell a kilo of cotton and buy two and a half liters of diesel, now they sell two and a half kilos of cotton and can only buy one liter of diesel. On one side, one kilo of cotton for two and a half liters of diesel; now, two and a half kilos of cotton for one liter of diesel.

With today's money, if it were like the day the AK Party came to power, cotton would be 150 liras; now it is 25 liras. If the retiree salary were like the day the AK Party came to power, it would be 80,000 liras; now it is 16,000 liras. If the minimum wage were like the day they came to power, it would be 75,000 liras; currently, it is 22,000 liras. So, they are telling one big lie."

"WE ARE FIRST IN EUROPE AND SECOND IN THE WORLD IN INTEREST RATES"

"They say, 'The economy is bad for us, but it's bad all over the world.' This is the biggest lie I've ever heard in my life. We are first in Europe in inflation. We are first in Europe in poverty. We are first in Europe in unemployment," said Özel, adding, "We are first in Europe and second in the world in interest rates. Food inflation is seven times the world average. The world average for red meat is 7 dollars; in Turkey, red meat is 21 dollars. Our Hasan, who earns a 22,000 lira salary, buys ground beef for 900 liras. The one responsible is the AK Party's 'Karadüzen'. Sooner or later it will collapse, and a fair and just order will come in its place," he said.

"ALEVIS ARE EQUAL CITIZENS; THIS STRUGGLE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THEY GET THEIR RIGHTS"

Stating that Sultangazi is a district with a high population of Alevi citizens, Özel stated that they would solve the problems of Alevis when they come to power and spoke as follows:

"We are one as Turks, Kurds, Laz, Circassians, and Bosniaks. We are one in heart as Alevis and Sunnis. But when it comes to practice, by God, we are not one. I have been saying this for years, I am not saying it today. I am not saying it for the sake of the conjuncture. I said it in the first group meeting when I became chairman. I have said it in parliament for years. As a Sunni, I say that there is an equality problem for Alevis in this country. Anyone who does not see this problem, who does not see this problem, is a fool, is base. When it suits them, 'Come, my dear Alevi, come, my dear,' but when it comes to service, 'There is for me, but none for you, my dear.' A cemevi is as much a place of worship as a mosque, period. Alevism is not a culture to be attached to the Ministry of Culture."

Alevism is a faith, and because it is a faith, it is equal to all faiths, it is respected, and it will be respected. Those who call a cemevi a 'cümbüş evi' (place of entertainment) are attaching the structure they built with the same mentality to the Ministry of Culture. Alevism is not a culture, it is a faith. Semah is not music, it is worship. Alevis are equal citizens. This struggle will continue until they get their rights."

"Under our government, until any Alevi says, 'I felt my equal citizenship completely,' it will be heard, the necessary actions will be taken, and I say it clearly, I say it clearly: Madımak will be made a museum of shame, cemevis will be made places of worship, and the equality of Alevis will be written in both the law and the constitution with a thick line drawn under it, we say it clearly. My friends say: 'Since you said this, we need to shout like this here.' They say it all together. For Mayor Ekrem, for the Kurds who say they don't have equal rights and are waiting for their problems to be solved, who are waiting with hope these days, for the Alevis, for everyone, for all souls: 'Rights, law, justice!'"

"WE ARE STRONGER THAN THEM ON THE STREET. WE ARE STRONGER THAN THEM AT THE BALLOT BOX"

"We are stronger than them on the street. We are stronger than them at the ballot box. The AK Party has no trust in its women's branches, in the Sultangazi Women's Branch. There is no trust in the Sultangazi Youth Branch, which they call AK Youth. There is no belief in the main cadre. There is no belief in the party's deputy. They have decided that they cannot win the election. They have thrown in the towel in democratic politics. They have established the judicial branches of the AK Party," said Özel, reacting to the process that began on March 19 and followed.

"While Tayyip Erdoğan is running away from the ring by the hand of a Chief Public Prosecutor, while he is running away from the field because he lost the match he has been playing and winning for years, they are sending robed prosecutors to the ring, to the field, and by advancing the coup process they started against the Republican People's Party on March 19, they think they can set the CHP back. Well, all coups have their own processes and results," said Özgür Özel, adding, "You know who is at the head of the March 19 coup. You know who they are using. You know their methods. In the end, they even came to closing the party," he said.

Emphasizing once again that the operations against the IMM are political, the CHP Leader reacted to the 3,742-page indictment as follows:

"The whole world is full of books that write about how authoritarian leaders rise, what they do to their countries, and what they do to democracy. But there is no book in the world that writes about how these authoritarian populist leaders are defeated and how democracy comes in their place. Is there? There is, but it is in the writing stage. Who is writing it? You are writing it, you. You are writing that book. These squares are writing it. These tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions are writing it. It is being written by the 11 million people who come when the street says 'Come' and turn back when it says 'Turn' for 71 rallies. It is being written by the 90-year-old aunt who climbed to the ballot box with her cane in both hands and her hunchback when we said, 'Come to the primary, come to solidarity' on March 23 against the March 19 coup."

"It is being written by those mothers who protect Mayor Ekrem, the party, that is, the future of that baby, with a three-month-old baby in their womb. You are writing that history. Finally, they started in the whole third month. Their arrival was clear beforehand. They started in the third month, we are in the middle of the 11th month. For eight months, day and night, including TRT, from A Haber to TGRT, from the mainstream media to the partisan ones, big or small, they all attacked unfairly together. They constantly served the lies they told. They did not get tired of lying, we never refrained from telling the truth, and we always said: 'Come on, bring the indictment. We are waiting not to be judged, but to judge. We are waiting to refute all these lies one by one,'" they said. And they started on March 19 with three secret witnesses.

ANOTHER TRT CALL FROM ÖZGÜR ÖZEL

"I am saying it from here, I am saying it once again. I, I will not forget this eight-month persecution. Winter passes, summer comes, the wolf does not forget the frost it ate, we will hold them accountable," said Özel, emphasizing once again that the trials should be broadcast on TRT, and spoke as follows:

"Is it that easy? Is it that easy? There are children, there is a spouse, there is a friend, there is a neighbor. Everyone's child has a question to ask their child at their school desk. Go out and lie for eight months. Go out and slander people's spouses, fathers, children, and then find no evidence. 'Well, what can we do, sometimes there are lies.' I said it then. These prosecutors will save themselves, but you will be left out in the cold, I said. I am saying it once again. Both those who fall for their gas and spread the slander, and those who sign the paper they are made to sign and slander and then step aside, will be asked for evidence one by one. These allegations will collapse. Let TRT broadcast it, let the televisions broadcast it, let me see the slander, let me see the slanderer, and let the nation see the answers of our lion-hearted friends."

"IF THE PROSECUTOR IS CHANGING PLAYERS, THIS IS ALSO A GAME, THIS IS ALSO A FABRICATION"

Stating that Meşe, one of the secret witnesses, attempted suicide, Özel said, "Meşe is not in the indictment. Where is this Meşe? Meşe has lost his mind. Some say he committed suicide. Some say he died. Some say he ran away. Some say he didn't get what he agreed on, he broke the deal. They didn't put Meşe, the Meşe they made tell all these slanders, into the indictment," he said.

Saying that they started to make Ladin say Meşe's statements, Özel spoke as follows:

"On March 19, they copied and pasted what Meşe said to someone named İlke, who wasn't there. Look, beautiful people of Sultangazi, a secret witness is a real person. Only their face is hidden. Their voice is hidden. If evidence is found according to what they say, action is taken. If not, what they say has no value.

But the witness, who must be a real person, speaks eight months ago and people are put inside accordingly, and eight months later, 'I changed the witness. Meşe didn't say the same words, İlke did.' Well, in a football match, players are changed, it's a game. In a basketball match, players are changed, it's a game. In a theater, one actor gets sick, someone else plays in their place, it's a game. Can a witness be changed in court? Can the same person go and another person come in their place with a different name?

'So if the prosecutor is changing players, this is also a game, this is also a fabrication, this is also a lie. You have been caught red-handed. I am calling out to Mr. Erdoğan once again from here, once again. We, our nation, and our families are sincere prayers for justice. We are praying for justice. Not for anything else."

"YOU HAVE BECOME UNABLE TO DEFEND THAT EMPTY INDICTMENT"

Recalling the statements Erdoğan used when he was Prime Minister for the Ergenekon conspiracy, "I am the prosecutor of this case," Özgür Özel called out to Erdoğan and said the following:

"I am calling out to Erdoğan from here. Just as you hit the rock in FETÖ, in FETÖ, I said 'Ergenekon,' I said 'Balyoz,' I said 'Conspiracy,' and I wrote a book. If you said, 'I am the prosecutor of these,' Zekeriya Öz, whom you stood behind, put Mustafa Balbay, Mehmet Haberal in prison. He made the Chief of General Staff the head of a terrorist organization and put him in prison. We were standing there that day, you were standing behind the prosecutor.

Today, that Zekeriya Öz, the Zekeriya Öz of the coup plotter, ran abroad like a rat. My Mustafa Balbay, Mehmet Haberal, and the Chief of General Staff, İlker Pasha, are among us, walking with their heads held high. Now you are in the same conspiracy once again. The indictment has been written. I see that you cannot stand behind the 'White Taurus' gang. Until the indictment came out today, while you were holding the podium like this and calling Mayor Ekrem a thief, a briber, a corrupt person, today you say: 'By God, Mr. Özgür is defending him. I'm not saying anything. It's the judiciary's business.' It is clear that you have become unable to defend that empty indictment."

HE TOLD IT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SULTANGAZİ

Telling for the first time in Sultangazi that he gave a prison sentence to Sırrı Süreyya Önder during the period when Akın Gürlek was a judge, Özgür Özel said:

"Let me tell the story that the late Sırrı Süreyya Önder told. He said, 'You don't know this Akın Gürlek, I do.' He threw Beşir Atalay and his own delegation out of politics, and our side in front of the courts. I received 3.5 years in prison for a letter I read in 2015. The judge who gave the sentence is Akın Gürlek. I walked to the podium, he stretched his head, I said, 'Don't give me a sentence from here, give it from another article.' He said, 'Why?' I said, 'This state won't find anyone else to take the initiative for peace again.' He smirked and slapped me with a 3.5-year sentence."

İMAMOĞLU, WHO FACES UP TO 23 CENTURIES IN PRISON, SPOKE FROM SİLİVRİ

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik took the stage to read İmamoğlu's letter.

Çelik began his speech by commemorating those who lost their lives in the massacre in Gazi District in 1995.

In the letter he wrote from Marmara Prison, where he has been detained for 242 days, İmamoğlu included the following statements:

"This is the square of those who stand up for law and democracy against those who show the impudence of ignoring the will of the nation. This is the square of those who love justice and freedom. It is the square of unity and brotherhood. The hope of tens of millions is in this square; you are the symbol of hope and courage. I am proud of each and every one of you, I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart."

"My dear fellow citizens, the indictment they put forward as a result of an investigation that lasted for a year and in which all kinds of means were mobilized is a document of shame. It is a document of shame in the name of law, in the name of democracy, in the name of political morality. With this indictment, the requirements of law and state seriousness have been trampled upon. A declaration of political intent has been put forward under the name of an indictment. With this indictment, the government has clearly declared its intention not to grant the right to life to its opponents and to suppress the national will. Those who try to push us out of politics with a baseless, inconsistent, and unlawful indictment are afraid of the nation making free choices. They are afraid of the extraordinary performance we have shown in the municipalities.”

“THE REASON FOR THE HATRED AND ANGER TOWARDS US…”

"The hatred and anger towards us is the hatred and anger felt towards the great favor our nation has shown to our management skills and morality. The reason for the hatred and anger towards us is the nurseries we brought to Sultangazi, the City Restaurant, the Ahmed Arif Library. It is the social support and aid we provide to those in need in the fairest way. It is our Regional Employment Office where we bring job-seeking citizens together with employers."

"The reason for the hatred and anger towards us is the metros we built many times more than them, the green spaces we saved from zoning gangs and opened to the public. They feel hatred and anger towards us because we have made the morality of looking at everyone with the same eyes and treating them equally, regardless of their faith, identity, gender, political thought, or lifestyle, dominant in the management of this city."

"They harbor hostility towards us because we established a 'Faith Desk' for the first time in the history of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and even in the history of our country, and provided equal service to mosques, cemevis, churches, and synagogues. Because we, with this egalitarian and just management approach, are neutralizing the 'weapon of staying in power by polarizing' that they have in their hands."

“THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE AFRAID OF THE NATION AND RUN AWAY; WE ARE THE ONES WHO TRUST THE NATION AND EMBRACE IT”

“Know them well. They are the ones who are afraid of the nation and run away. We are the ones who trust the nation and embrace it. Know them well. They are the ones who ignore the law and attempt to carry out extrajudicial executions of their political opponents. Keeping me in a cell in Silivri is not enough for them. They want my voice never to be heard, my physical presence never to be seen, my thoughts and words never to be spread."

Closing my personal social media account was not enough for them, now they have closed our 'Presidential Candidate Office' account to prevent the posts I make with my identity as a Presidential Candidate. They are closing websites and social media accounts to prevent the facts from being revealed against the indictment. I have been saying for months, 'let the trial be broadcast live, let the nation see the truth,' and they have been looking for a hole to hide from this demand for months."

"But the end of the road is in sight. Fear will lose, courage will win. Evil will lose, goodness will win. One person will lose, a great nation will win. The road is over for them. We are at the beginning of the road. The nation has turned its back, they have no hope left. Now, you are the hope. You are the hope!”

HE INCLUDED AHMED ARİF'S VERSES

“You know what is written on the walls of our Ahmed Arif library that we opened in Sultangazi, don't you?

See, how I am recreated,

With your honest, young hands.

My daughters,

I have sons in the future,

Each one an indispensable piece of the world.

The bud of my longing of thousands of years,

From your eyes,

I kiss your eyes,

My only hope is in you,

Do you understand?

We will grow hope together, everything will be very beautiful. Everything will be very beautiful! Ekrem İmamoğlu. Silivri Dungeon.”