'Parking' tension between the Governor's Office and CHP! Özgür Çelik explains what happened

It was learned that CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's official vehicle was not allowed into the underground parking lot during his arrival at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), where the funeral ceremony for Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and DEM Party Istanbul MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder was held, and that the party had filed a complaint against the Deputy Provincial Police Chief, who was alleged to have given the instruction to the Istanbul Governor's Office not to admit the vehicle to the parking lot.

According to information obtained, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's official vehicle was not allowed into the underground parking lot during his entry into the building at the Taksim Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), where the funeral ceremony for Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Sırrı Süreyya Önder was held.

The Istanbul Governor's Office, regarding the matter, had stated: "Regarding the attack on Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel that occurred at the Atatürk Cultural Center on 04.05.2025; the news reports appearing in some media outlets stating that his official vehicle was not allowed into the underground parking lot during his entry to the Atatürk Cultural Center do not reflect the truth. Contrary to what is claimed, due to the density at the parking lot entrance, the vehicle was exited further back and the program area was reached on foot in order to bypass the traffic."

Genel Başkanımız Sayın Özgür Özel’e yapılan alçak saldırı sonrası dolaşıma sokulan “Otoparka giriş talebi olmadı” ifadeleri gerçeği yansıtmamaktadır.

İstanbul Valiliği ile yaptığımız görüşme sonucunda sürecin incelendiği tarafımıza bildirilmişti. Buna rağmen neden böyle bir…

— Özgür Çelik (@ozgurcelikchp) May 4, 2025

RESPONSE FROM CHP: IT WAS PERSISTENTLY REQUESTED

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik clarified the development in question, using the phrase "The truth of the matter is as follows."

Making a statement from his X account, Çelik wrote:

"The statements circulated after the vile attack on our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel, claiming that 'there was no request for entry to the parking lot,' do not reflect the truth.

As a result of our meeting with the Istanbul Governor's Office, we were informed that the process was being investigated. Despite this, we find it difficult to understand why such a statement was made and why the public was misled.

The truth of the matter is as follows; our Chairman arrived at the area where the funeral ceremony would be held by road from Ankara 1 hour earlier, waited for the ceremony time at the hotel directly across from the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), and walked to the ceremony.

While our Chairman was at the ceremony inside the AKM, his team persistently requested that his vehicle be admitted to the parking lot, and despite an argument occurring regarding this, our Chairman's vehicle was not admitted to the protocol area where the attack took place and where the vehicles of other political parties were admitted.

The legal process regarding the perpetrator who carried out the vile attack is being followed by 10 of our lawyers from our Provincial Legal Commission at the Gayrettepe Police Department.

Furthermore, we will file a criminal complaint against all officials who had negligence in this vile attack.

The fact that thousands of innocent people, primarily our presidential candidate and our mayors, are being held in pre-trial detention while a perpetrator walks the streets freely is a result of the decayed justice system.

Those who decay the justice system and the attackers should know this well; the Republican People's Party will continue its struggle with determination, without taking a single step back, under the leadership of our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel in the face of these vile attacks!"