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Mesut Özarslan: Mr. Özgür Özel told lies in his group speech

Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan, who resigned from the CHP, reacts to the statements made by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel at the parliamentary group meeting.

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Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan, who has been making headlines with his resignation, had stated that the reason behind his decision to resign was the tone used by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel towards him. 

Stating that Özel used abusive language about him, Özarslan this time claimed that the statements made by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel about him in his group speech were lies.

Here is that message from Özarslan:

My dear fellow citizens;

Mr. Özgür Özel; in his Group Speech dated 10.02.2026, told lies while looking everyone in the eye. Specifically;

1- By altering the content of the messages he sent to me, which contained profanity and insults, and by concealing his other insulting messages by not disclosing them, he lied to his closest colleagues, members of parliament, mayors, provincial and district chairmen, and the entire public, both party members and non-members. It does not befit a party chairman to make false statements while looking people in the eye.

2- He claimed that I said to an Ankaragücü fan leader, “I am switching to the AK Party, support me, and I will buy you an apartment.” These words have been declared “untrue, baseless, and slanderous” by Ankaragücü Board Member Muammer Polat and other officials. Furthermore, Ankaragücü’s fan groups have vehemently denied this statement on their own social media accounts. I feel sorry for the Chairman as he struggles in the pit of lies he has fallen into.

3- He accused me of corruption by citing the numbers of 5 investigation files currently being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. However, Mansur Yavaş is listed as the primary suspect in these investigation files, while the other names are Ankara Metropolitan Municipality bureaucrats and general managers of its subsidiaries. I see it as a complete lapse of reason for a Chairman to accuse his own party's Metropolitan Mayor, Mansur Yavaş, and other bureaucrats just to use these files against me. Unlike him, I do not have a shield of immunity. Every citizen has the right to apply to the Prosecutor's Office if they believe a crime has been committed. I am not disturbed by these investigation files, and I have no negative attitude towards my politician friends who are in the position of complainant/plaintiff in these files.  If our state deems it necessary to take my statement on any matter, I am ready to provide it with peace of mind. Indeed, on 23.10.2025, in an investigation regarding tenders conducted by municipal subsidiary officials, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a decision of non-prosecution without even needing to take my statement. I was the CHP Mayor of Keçiören at the time the decision was made; this decision showed that the Judiciary made its ruling without being politicized. On my own behalf, I can say with peace of mind that “I have not eaten forbidden food, so my stomach does not ache.” I believe that the other bureaucrat friends who were complained about also did not commit any criminal acts. The discretion belongs to the prosecutor's office and judicial authorities that make decisions on behalf of the Turkish Nation.

4- Mr. Özgür Özel; in his statement today, he again crossed the boundaries of decency, implying with the phrase “corrupt seed Mesut” that I am a bad person by birth, that this evil comes from my lineage and family, that my character is bad, and that I am morally flawed. In order to continue his politics, while he struggles in the pit of lies he has fallen into, I will absolutely not stoop to his level in response to Mr. Özgür Özel’s delusions regarding me and my family; I will file a criminal complaint against him again on behalf of myself and my family.

Respectfully announced to the public.