CHP's Yavuzyılmaz makes agenda-setting claim: 'The AKP's oil case filled with suspicious deaths!'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman and Zonguldak MP Deniz Yavuzyılmaz brought extraordinary developments regarding the international arbitration process conducted between Iraq and Turkey concerning crude oil transportation between 2014 and 2018 to the agenda in a post on his social media account.

OIL TRANSPORTATION ACCUSATION

The arbitration process in question began after the Iraqi Central Government applied to the International Court of Arbitration in France on May 23, 2014, accusing Turkey of illicit oil transportation. While the case involved a risk of billions of dollars in compensation, the sudden deaths of two of the three international arbitrators involved in the decision-making process were recorded as a rare occurrence.

While one of the three arbitrators was appointed by Iraq and one by Turkey, with the third arbitrator selected jointly by the two, anomalies occurred one after another. First, the arbitration secretary resigned; subsequently, the Iraqi side's arbitrator, Prof. David Caron, passed away due to a sudden illness, and the Turkish side's arbitrator, Prof. Emmanuel Gaillard, died unexpectedly due to an aortic dissection.

'LACKS MENTAL COMPETENCE' JUSTIFICATION

In his post, CHP's Yavuzyılmaz emphasized that the AKP government wanted to replace the third surviving arbitrator on the grounds that he "lacks mental competence," but this attempt was rejected by the arbitration board. While the case was not concluded until February 13, 2023, the controversial oil transportation continued until that date.

The report, based on the International Court of Arbitration's final decision file dated February 13, 2025, has entered legal literature due to the sudden deaths of two high-profile arbitrators during the same process.