From Kızılay to Menzil: The 'octopus' within the state

Interview and photos: Sercan Meriç

Journalist İsmail Arı, author of the books Kızılay Holding and Menzil’in Kasası (The Vault of Menzil), has been receiving threats for a long time. Arı, who has had many investigations opened against him, states that the pressure has increased since he wrote his book about Menzil. We spoke with Arı—who says, "Those who touch it get burned, but how these decisions were made will emerge in a few years"—about the books he has written, the latest developments in Kızılay and Menzil, and how religious communities and sects have created an "octopus structure" within the state.

What is happening at Kızılay right now?

Kızılay first came to my attention in 2019. There was incredible corruption taking place at Kızılay; millions of liras were being embezzled. A large portion of Kızılay's revenue comes from donations, and it also has its own income-generating areas, such as mineral water production. However, I saw that its executives were spending this money in Kızılay's coffers as if it were their own and had established a major system of corruption. I have repeatedly spoken about how Kızılay's multi-billion lira budget is spent. I persistently explained that Kızılay acts as an intermediary for those "avoiding taxes." I explained that the Kızılay management consists of unqualified individuals, that the AKP has completely taken it over, and that Kızılay has become a warehouse for employment.

What was the main turning point regarding Kızılay in your opinion?

The February 6, 2023, earthquake... Those unqualified cadres botched everything. While thousands, hundreds of thousands of people were waiting in the cold on the streets, it was revealed that those tents were sold to aid organizations. It caused public outrage; there were protests on the streets and hundreds of criminal complaints. That Kızılay management did not even blush. The Kızılay management should have resigned. They remained silent for months, and only after a statement by Erdoğan did the then-Kızılay President Kerem Kınık resign. Kerem Kınık is also a former AKP municipal council member. He served as a director in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) during the Erdoğan era. Then he entered trade, founding company after company. Then, at Erdoğan's request, he went to Kızılay in 2015 to become vice president, and in 2016, he became the President of Kızılay.

Where does Kerem Kınık's power come from?

He is a figure who has completely leaned on the government and Erdoğan. Despite that, he had to resign. An employment space was created for him at the University of Health Sciences. But the file regarding all these crimes is still at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office... Yet, his statement cannot even be taken. The blame was left solely on Kerem Kınık. Kınık was sidelined by a statement from Erdoğan. The rest of the management kept their posts exactly as they were. In fact, Fatma Meriç Yılmaz, known to be a member of the Menzil Community, took over Kınık's seat. Fatma Meriç Yılmaz, who is alleged to have entered the university as a nepotistic academic, became a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Health during the era of the Menzil-affiliated Recep Akdağ, climbed the ladder almost three or five steps at a time to reach serious positions, and then took the seat from Kerem Kınık upon Erdoğan's instruction, became the President of Kızılay. Now, a member of the Menzil Community is managing Kızılay.

What started happening at Kızılay after Fatma Meriç Yılmaz became president?

There is an endless amount of material at Kızılay. I saw that Gaza aid and other aid were missing at Kızılay's Istanbul Branch. Moreover, it was the Kızılay inspectors themselves who detected this... It was a report kept like a secret.

What happened to the Gaza aid?

A large number of people are being hired into the institution at Kızılay, made directors, and made executives. You look at their backgrounds: names coming from the Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs), names coming from other associations and foundations. Being a director at Kızılay is equivalent to being a bureaucrat in the public sector. Very serious money, official vehicles, and all kinds of opportunities are in their hands. Kızılay continues to become a holding company on one hand. Kızılay also has a holding company, and it has more than 10 companies. They continue this holding process. Those companies have board members. They were receiving attendance fees. Now they do not explain whether this attendance fee is being received or not. Finally, Kızılay also became a neighbor to Erdoğan.

Why?

They rented a large building in Kısıklı, Istanbul. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been living in a villa in Kısıklı for many years; he has a residence there when he comes to Istanbul. Kızılay also rented a large building very close to there. They named it the "Istanbul Office." Who works there, how many people work there, and what the employees do is unknown.

Why do you think such a need was felt?

That place is also the route Erdoğan's convoy takes while going to and from his home. Perhaps they wanted, "Let Erdoğan see us more." During the term of Fatma Meriç Yılmaz, who was placed in the seat after Kerem Kınık's resignation, Kızılay had another congress, an election was held, and she and her management were re-elected. No prosecutor dares to take the statement of Fatma Meriç Yılmaz, Kerem Kınık, or the other board members of Kızılay. The file sits on a prosecutor's desk at the Ankara Courthouse, and they cannot say, "Come here, brother, there have been hundreds of criminal complaints against you, and they have all been combined with me. Come and give your statement here." Perhaps in a year or two, they will say, "There is no room for prosecution," or they will issue a decision of non-prosecution.

Cannot the Kızılay management be elected independently of Erdoğan?

The Kızılay management cannot be elected independently of Erdoğan. In the book Kızılay Holding, I have an interview with one of the former Kızılay presidents, Ahmet Lütfü Akar. Ahmet Lütfü Akar says: "During my presidency, I would meet with President Erdoğan before the elections. I would also meet with him when he was Prime Minister. He would give lists. I would also have suggestions, but he would not approve a very large portion of them. Because there are about 10 names in the Kızılay management; he would only consent to a few names, and he would determine the others himself."

So Erdoğan determines the management...

Not just the board of directors... There is also the general manager and their deputies; he was explaining that Erdoğan determines them personally as well. In fact, it turned out that the names who entered Kızılay on the list he gave upon Erdoğan's instruction were FETÖ members. Erdoğan had put FETÖ members there, and then they were purged. It was with their purge that space was opened for Kerem Kınık and the Menzil-affiliated Fatma Meriç Yılmaz. Erdoğan personally put them there too. Because Erdoğan wanted it, "tent merchant" Kerem Kınık sat in that seat for years, and because Erdoğan wanted it, Fatma Meriç Yılmaz was placed in the Kızılay seat, the presidential seat.

What kind of budget does Kızılay manage?

Kızılay's annual budget is more than 20 billion liras. It is in the position of Turkey's largest holding. It has more than 10 thousand employees. Kızılay is one of Turkey's largest holdings. No one manages that seat independently of Erdoğan. Tenders are given to people the government wants: community members, community companies, and other cronies...

Has Kızılay become one of Menzil's vaults?

Kızılay is truly the vault of Menzil... Actually, before I started writing the book Menzil’in Kasası, I entered this path through Kızılay. Because I saw that the Menzil Community was very strong in Kızılay and that Kızılay was making purchases from Menzil's companies. Kızılay has a monopoly in Turkey in the blood business. Blood bags, other materials, their storage, separation, etc... There are many processes. In 2019, I realized that multi-million dollar jobs were given to Menzil's company. Then that company appeared before me during the Covid-19 period. Covid-19 tests in Istanbul were done by that company. It was said, "Buy from them, let the money not go to foreigners," and it was given to them. I saw the connection of many names in the Kızılay management with Menzil.

Is it like the new president Fatma Meriç Yılmaz?

I knew in 2019 that Yılmaz was a member of the Menzil Community. After the book Kızılay Holding, my path evolved into Menzil’in Kasası, and I wrote it. One of the biggest factors in me reaching this point is the February 6, 2023, earthquake. Because during that period, Menzil members invaded the earthquake zone and organized "repentance sessions" over the rubble. We revealed that governors called the Menzil Community and asked for favors, saying, "Let's host this person, let them stay in your village." In the lottery for earthquake housing, all the names managing the Menzil Community were somehow given houses. One of the first houses built by TOKİ to be given out went to the names managing the Menzil Community. 5-6 months after the earthquake, the leader of the Menzil Community, Abdülbaki Elhüseynî, passed away. And it was one of the most crowded funeral ceremonies Turkey has ever seen. Convoys departing from Istanbul went to Menzil. From the Great Unity Party (BBP) to AKP members, from MHP members to others, everyone was at that funeral ceremony. Bureaucrats, the Vice President, former minister Recep Akdağ, everyone was there.

How do you evaluate this close interest of the state in Menzil?

There is a popular "octopus" analogy in recent times. In my opinion, one of the real octopuses is the Menzil Community. Because one arm of the octopus is in the MHP, one arm is in the AKP... A small arm of that octopus is in the CHP. One arm is in the bureaucracy, one arm is in the business world, in trade. They have an association similar to MÜSİAD: TÜMSİAD... They are in the field of education, they are in the field of health. The real octopus is the Menzil Community. They are very strong in the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces), they are very strong in the gendarmerie, they are very strong in the police. They filled the space left by FETÖ very quickly. That is, you pour water into a glass, the glass fills up quickly, it is like that. For example, it is known that Menzil is very strong in the Gendarmerie General Command. Just a year ago, an important name from Menzil met with the Deputy General Commander of the Gendarmerie. Then that person received a promotion. Now there are such allegations...

How?

Let me explain this in detail here for the first time... It is rumored that the influence of the Menzil Community in the gendarmerie is so great that the top cadre of the gendarmerie does not want female gendarmes with them, does not want to get into an elevator with female gendarmerie commanders, and even when hosting military delegations from the gendarmerie and TSK coming from abroad, it is alleged that women serving in the gendarmerie band were told, "You don't come anymore." The gendarmerie does not deny this. It is persistently told that this situation has reached the zenith with the new Gendarmerie General Commander, General Ali Çardakçı, and that such a thing happened in the Gendarmerie General Command.

What kind of influence does Menzil have within the police?

They also have very serious power within the police. There are members of the Menzil Community even in the presidential protection team. Just like the followers of Fethullah Gülen, they are as close to Erdoğan as a breath. We are experiencing the same thing over and over again. Because the government allows it, this community fattens, grows, takes over public institutions, and possesses a large trade network. There is a video of their current leader, Muhammed Sâkî Elhüseynî, published 3-5 months ago: "The governor did whatever we said. We asked for zoning, he gave zoning, we asked for that, he gave that. They did this there," he explains. If it goes on like this, the coming years are not bright at all.

What is happening in the inheritance war in the Menzil Community?

The Menzil Community is very strong, very effective, but it has been a bit quiet for the last 1.5 years. They have their own internal quarrels, and they are about to resolve them. Because Erdoğan himself and the Palace have an intervention in that quarrel. That fratricidal quarrel will end as the government wants, and then Menzil will break its silence after that fratricidal quarrel and show its real power then.

After writing the book Menzil’in Kasası, many lawsuits were filed against you. Do you think, "They started coming after me more after I wrote the book"?

After the book Menzil’in Kasası was published, some businesspeople who are members of the community mentioned in the book made various complaints, wanting to have this book collected and destroyed. They wanted me to be tried. Then I realized this: I can clearly say that after this book was published, the number of my lawsuits tripled or quadrupled, and the investigations against me increased fivefold. Because the Menzil Community has incredible power in the judiciary. They have great power not only in the courthouses but also in the Court of Cassation. It comes to the "Those who touch it get burned" issue. During the process of writing this book and still, I am meeting with many bureaucrats, police officers, officers, non-commissioned officers, judges, and prosecutors.

What are they telling you?

They tell me that those who touch issues related to the Menzil Community get burned, that they are exiled, and that they are subjected to various plots and slanders. There are many people who have left their posts. Those who choose to resist are demoted to "cushy" positions or exiled to other places. I think the investigations against me have increased due to the influence of the Menzil Community. I have other ongoing investigations. I even know that one investigation is at a level to be tried with aggravated life imprisonment. I know that I am accused of "attempting to overthrow the government."

Well, many journalists are being arrested with morning raids. Do you have such a concern?

I am not afraid of being arrested or detained. I am not afraid of lawsuits being filed against me either. Because I have done nothing wrong. I did what was right; I did journalism, I did news. It has always been like this in the past: They said "pardon" to journalists, writers, cartoonists, and politicians, threw them in prison for 3 years, 5 years, then said "pardon." And now the same thing is happening. Our journalist friend Furkan Karabay is still in prison, journalist Ercüment Akdeniz is still in prison. I know the accusations against Furkan Karabay even though there is no indictment yet; I read Ercüment Akdeniz's indictment, and even if they receive sentences with political pressure in the first instance trial, those sentences will be overturned in the appellate court, they will be overturned in the Constitutional Court (AYM), and then the state will say: "Pardon, we apologize. We are paying this much compensation per day for the days we kept you in prison, and we apologize." In a few years, it will emerge how these decisions were made, who called whom and how. They will remain in prison for a much longer time due to the crimes they committed; I have no doubt about that.

You are also being sent intense threat messages... Have you been able to get results from the applications you made regarding this?

Since Turkey is turning more into a gang-mafia state, we see that journalists are threatened because they report on such structures. I was also targeted by a structure known to be affiliated with the Şahinler Group. Gökhan Göz... I previously explained that this group built illegal farms and made huge rents from here, and I reported it. I reached the documents and evidence. That is, restaurants, hotels, pools, places with or without alcohol... They are making huge money, and this place is unzoned. It was built on agricultural land. I left a note saying, "Use your right of reply," but no statement was made. Later, the legal process proceeded for them, and those illegal farms were demolished. Then I learned that an investigation was being conducted against Gökhan Göz at the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse. That investigation included the allegation that Gökhan Göz paid 600 thousand euros in bribes in the judiciary, that he got away with the "phenomena" investigation he was previously involved in this way, that he saved his skin by paying bribes in the judiciary despite being a fugitive for 6 months, and that the arrest warrant was lifted 6 months later. I reported this too. We published the news, Gökhan Göz was detained in the evening, and in the morning, he was arrested and sent to prison.

Did the threats to your phone and family start after these?

Yes, on May 15-16, they sent messages to my grandmother, they called my aunt living in another city, threats, insults... I filed a complaint at that time. No one from the judiciary or the police called or asked me; there is no sound at all. Then they sent another message. They said they were following me. I gave an additional statement again. It was said that a protection decision was made for me by the decision of the Provincial Police Department. I thank the Provincial Police Chief and District Police Chief officials who acted sensitively on this matter. There is physical protection regarding me. In this country, the desired person is taken in one night. Even if they are on a mountaintop or in a shanty house in the city, the state finds whoever it wants whenever it wants, and takes them whenever it wants. This is not being intervened in intentionally. There are many questions in my mind here too: Is it because of the Menzil Community, or because I am not an AKP "sycophant" journalist? It is being blocked by someone intentionally there; I don't know the behind-the-scenes yet, but nothing remains hidden in this country.