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Striking anecdote from Bülent Arınç about CHP Chairman Özel: 'He protected my rights, he is my hero'

Responding to questions on a television program, 22nd Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Bülent Arınç shared a striking anecdote about CHP Chairman Özgür Özel.

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Arınç answered questions from Mehmet Akif Ersoy on Habertürk TV. Commenting on the election results, Bülent Arınç stated that he finds Özgür Özel very successful.

Responding to Ersoy's question, "How do you find Özgür Özel's performance?" with "Very successful," Arınç also shared an anecdote about Özel.

Arınç said the following:

"When I was the provincial chairman of the National Salvation Party, Özgür Özel was only two years old in Manisa. I say this in his favor. After his career in pharmacy, he also served as provincial chairman, deputy provincial chairman, or in similar roles; he became a member of parliament. He failed to get elected a few times before, but he did not give up on politics.

We know him as a person who speaks well, has strong reasoning, and is a fighter. There is another aspect of him that is very important to me. It was around 2017, after July 15, there were statutory decrees, arrests, and lawsuits. A state of emergency was necessary in the face of such a treacherous coup attempt; there is no other way but a state of emergency. My wife's cousin was the health director in Manisa. He had been our candidate in the June elections.

I had also retired by that date. Later, he was arrested and went to prison. Thankfully, he made it to this day without any lawsuit ever being filed against him. Our uncle, my wife's uncle, passed away during those times. Of course, our arrested friend—if you allow me, I won't give his name, everyone will know—was brought in with his hands cuffed, and then they put him in a room.

Relatives also came; some were crying, some were embracing. Our uncle's body was in the courtyard. Now, I went there; I am his relative. I mean, we loved our uncle very much. He was a person like an angel. Özgür Özel had come. He was a Manisa MP at the time. I suppose he might have come to the funeral of the father of his friend who was the health director. Or he came because I went. We have no way of questioning this side of it.

But Mehmet Akif Bey, it is the greatest disappointment of my life; there are 5 MPs from the AK Party in Manisa, none of them are there. Two of them are people I held by the hand and made MPs. One of them is a child of that village. They are nowhere to be seen. The governor is already not there. The chief prosecutor has fled. Each of them has scattered in a different direction, thinking 'I must save myself.' Özgür Özel is there, and I am there. The funeral arrived, an imam was found.

"HE IS MY HERO"

They brought our uncle's son; the gendarmerie was at the head of the car. I don't remember if it was a gendarmerie non-commissioned officer or a lieutenant. They said, 'Sir, we cannot remove the handcuffs; sir, we have received such orders.' May God bless him a thousand times, he is my hero.

Özgür Bey said, 'Mr. Speaker, please do not get involved, I will solve this.' He entered into an argument with them. He said, 'If you get involved, they will make this a bigger issue. I will struggle with them.' The gendarmerie still did not accept. He called the governor and the chief prosecutor on the phone. He argued with them fiercely. He said, 'What you are doing is shameful; this child has come to his father's funeral. Why are you not allowing him to say 'Allahu Akbar'? Are you afraid he will escape?'

In the end, whether they were moved to mercy or fear, the handcuffs were removed, and the child said 'Allahu Akbar' and performed his father's funeral prayer. Now, in a place where no AK Party member was present, where even people who owed everything to me were not there because they were fleeing and afraid, Özgür Özel protected my rights. I will not forget this. But I have never voted for the CHP in my life. I don't intend to, either. That is a separate matter. Just as CHP members appreciate me for my honesty and integrity, I also thank him for what he did, always."