Özgür Özel visits those detained in Silivri

Özel met with Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş, Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Can Atalay, Osman Kavala and Tayfun Kahraman at Silivri Prison.

Speaking in front of Silivri Prison after his visit, Özel described the events surrounding Özdağ's detention process. Accusing the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor of 'exceeding authority,' Özel provided information that Özdağ had written a petition to the Ministry of Justice.

According to Özel, Özdağ noted the following in his petition:

'I have more than 10 visitors a day. They make me take off and put on my shoes 10 times. They search me 30 times. This is normal for someone who has one visitor a day, but it is very difficult for me, it hurts me.'

Speaking about Özdağ's situation, Özel addressed AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stating the following:

''Such a thing cannot be! Should I address Mr. Erdoğan? If he doesn't hear, maybe the First Lady will tell him tonight... Whatever you do or say to a party chairman within the grounds of political competition—look at what you said to me yesterday—but this is not something that should happen.

Beyond this, should another party catch one of your current political allies while they have no immunity and do this to them? This approach put forward by Erdoğan actually shows that he no longer has the strength or courage to struggle with the Zafer Party, with us, with Ekrem İmamoğlu, or with Mansur Yavaş.''

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL REACTS TO JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Directing criticisms of 'exceeding authority' and 'legal violations' at the judiciary, Özel opposed what happened by describing the process that led to Özdağ's arrest.

Reacting to the arrest of politicians and journalists, Özel used the following expressions:

''As a political party chairman, I am ashamed to be visiting the chairman of another political party here, to be visiting a political party chairman who has been detained here for 31 days while he should be performing his opposition duties at the head of his party. In politics, the rights of political party chairmen are entrusted to one another. Ümit Özdağ's residence is Ankara, the place where an alleged insult crime was committed is Antalya, and the place where another alleged crime was committed is Kayseri. If these procedures were carried out in Ankara, Antalya, or Kayseri, it would be wrong because it is being done to a politician, but there would be a legal basis. What is the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor doing, acting in places where he has no authority? He is telling the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor, 'You don't know your job, I do.' He is telling Antalya, 'There was a crime, you didn't see it; I saw it.' He is telling Kayseri, 'You cannot please our President as much as I can.' Can such a thing happen? We are facing an exceeding of authority that everyone knows—and the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor knows best—a professional arrogance, and a situation of looking down on one's colleagues.''

'WHAT IS DETAINED IS JOURNALISTIC ACTIVITY'

Regarding the arrest of Suat Toktaş, Özel stated that 'journalistic activity has been arrested.' Emphasizing that Toktaş is a successful journalist, the CHP leader reported that the news report that led to the detention was not a crime, but a journalistic success.

Criticizing Toktaş's detention, Özel said:

''Suat Toktaş, whom I visited here for the first time along with the visit to Mr. Ümit Özdağ, has been here for 22 days. I will say what I always say; what is detained here is journalistic activity, nothing else. Suat Toktaş is someone who has held top-level management positions in 8 major television channels in Turkey and has worked in middle and upper management in press organizations in 30 different roles to date. He is a very experienced journalist who looks at every issue as news and from the perspective of news ethics, and a journalistic activity, a politician, mentioned the name of an expert and said that the same person was chosen once in every 8,000 people. Reaching this person is a journalistic success. Journalism was done by publishing that person's criticisms of Halk TV and his criticisms of İmamoğlu, and by telling them this as well. It may be good, bad, this way or that, but the work itself is journalism. The work done by Suat Toktaş is a widely held opinion. I followed it personally myself.''