Lawyer Özgür Özel labelled the 'İBB case exchange attorney' detained: Chief Prosecutor's Office explains why

Journalist İsmail Saymaz had said of lawyer Mehmet Yıldırım — whom CHP leader Özgür Özel accused at the Tuzla rally of running an 'İBB case exchange' — that "Lawyer Mehmet Yıldırım, whose name CHP leader Özgür Özel disclosed yesterday, was apprehended this evening in a manner fit for the movies by Istanbul Police acting on the orders of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Yıldırım is alleged to have travelled to Antalya in order to flee abroad."

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a statement on the matter, confirming that the individual had been taken into custody.

The statement read as follows:

"Following the speech delivered on 06.08.2025 by Republican People's Party leader Özgür Özel, our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an ex officio investigation into the allegations of suspected criminal conduct. As a result of the inquiry, suspect Mehmet Yıldırım, a practising lawyer, was apprehended while travelling by vehicle in the Belen area of Serik district, Antalya province, and has been taken into custody on suspicion of the offence of 'influence peddling'. The investigation is being conducted meticulously in all its aspects."

WHAT DID ÖZEL SAY?

CHP leader Özgür Özel, at the 'Defending the People's Will' rally, had alleged that lawyers connected to certain prosecutors had formed an 'İBB case exchange'. Özel had stated: "I am announcing to Turkey that we have evidence showing that a gang of lawyers has been approaching individuals and saying 'I was sent by the prosecutor. I will represent you. You will give this statement. You will say these things. And you will pay this much money' — forming an 'İBB case exchange'. It is my sincere call to expose a file worth millions of dollars. Tomorrow we will hand the HSK the date, day, time, and bank receipts; I will hand the HSK a transcript of the lawyer's phone and WhatsApp records!"