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CHP reacts to lawsuit filed against Özgür Özel: 'A lawsuit directed by the AKP is political pressure!'

CHP Deputy Chair Gamze Taşcıer has strongly reacted to the non-pecuniary damage lawsuits filed against CHP leader Özgür Özel by the force commanders, the Chief of General Staff, and the Minister of National Defense. Stating that these legal steps are unlawful and serve as a tool for political pressure, Taşcıer said, "This lawsuit, directed personally by the AKP President, is nothing more than a tool of political pressure."

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Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak, Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, and Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu have each filed separate non-pecuniary damage lawsuits against CHP Chairman Özgür Özel due to his criticisms regarding the dismissal of lieutenants. CHP Deputy Chair Gamze Taşcıer responded to the legal actions taken against Özel.

 

In a post on her social media account, Taşcıer stated the following:

“Our Chairman, Mr. Özgür Özel, has raised legitimate questions under the roof of the TBMM regarding many unjust practices, especially the lieutenants dismissed from the TSK, and has expressed that the Turkish Armed Forces, the apple of our nation's eye, must remain in a position above politics as a constitutional institution. 

 

However, the Erdoğan regime is using the judiciary as an element of pressure, forcing commanders to act almost like a 'party cadre,' and is dragging the Turkish Armed Forces into the center of its own political polemics. 

 

This lawsuit, directed personally by the AKP President, is nothing more than a tool of political pressure. Using the power of the state in the name of personal or partisan interests under the title of 'Commander-in-Chief' is fundamentally contrary to the principle of the rule of law.  

 

This political polemic, fueled by the Palace regime, is damaging the Turkish Armed Forces, which is a common value of our nation. It is our most natural right to expect those who could not speak out against the dismissal of lieutenants—who stated they were soldiers of Mustafa Kemal—from the TSK under the instructions and pressure of the political power, to perform their duties within the boundaries drawn by the law, rather than in line with political instructions. 

 

Voicing this expectation and criticizing an openly committed illegality is indispensable for the future of our country and the salvation of our democracy. 

 

Let it not be forgotten; those who should be held accountable cannot silence those seeking justice. Instead of providing transparent explanations, the addressees of our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel's legitimate questions are resorting to intimidation through lawsuits. No matter what the government does or what language of threat it uses, the truth will emerge sooner or later.”