CHP Chair Özel: Akın Gürlek is wiretapping Erdoğan's phone calls and lying to him

Özgür Özel answered questions during a live broadcast on Sözcü TV.

Commenting on the rumors of Burcu Köksal defecting to the AKP, Özel said, "In politics, two days is a very long time. A rumor is circulating. If there is no official statement from her or the municipality on this matter, the passage of time strengthens the claim. The claim begins to be accepted as truth."

CHP Chair Özel noted that they would hold another press conference regarding Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek within a week or two, and that what they reveal in this meeting would contain information that would not allow a minister to continue in office.

Furthermore, Özel alleged, "Akın Gürlek speaks with Erdoğan via a crypto-phone. It is said that he tells those close to him, 'Don't worry, I am also wiretapping Erdoğan. They can't do anything to me.' He is recording the phone calls. The information Akın Gürlek provided, claiming 'We found 10 pots of gold in İmamoğlu's father's garden,' is a lie, but he tells Erdoğan, 'I found it, I have the proof, don't worry.'"

CHP Chair Özel:
Akın Gürlek is wiretapping Erdoğan's phone calls and lying to himhttps://t.co/IXsvYgpH0g pic.twitter.com/1xwrB4iZTi

— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) May 8, 2026

Highlights from CHP Chair Özel's statements:

Regarding the allegations that Afyonkarahisar Mayor Burcu Köksal would defect to the AKP, Özgür Özel stated the following:

"When I called, her phone was probably off, but my colleagues said, 'We are calling, she isn't answering.' Some rumors had been heard, you understand?

Maybe it didn't connect once when I called, and it might have been turned off afterward. So, I couldn't speak with her, I couldn't reach her.

Other than that, of course, so many days are passing. In politics, two days is a very long time. A rumor is circulating. If there is no official statement from her or the municipality on this matter, the passage of time strengthens the claim. The claim begins to be accepted as truth.

Things like 'don't take her to another party'... But on the other hand, a lot was said here about her joining the AK Party at a ceremony to be held next week. There hasn't been a denial yet.

On the other hand, the Keçiören Mayor... You know, Osman Gökçek and the previous Keçiören Mayor of the AK Party, who was the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate in the last elections, were insistently making statements saying, 'She is at our party's door, she is trying to come to the AK Party.'

Under these conditions, I had asked her. She told me, 'Believe me, I am looking into your eyes and telling you, there is no such thing.' Suddenly, rumors emerged that she would switch to the AK Party. She had turned off her phones as well.

She had told a fan group of Ankaragücü, 'Will you come on Wednesday? To support me, to chant...' On the other hand, the AK Party's group chair in Parliament had confirmed such a participation to AK Party reporters. At that time, there was a heated exchange of messages between us."

"DIVORCE YOUR HUSBAND IF NECESSARY, BUT DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR PARTY"

(Burcu Köksal) - Just a short time ago, she went to Yenimahalle Mayor Fethi Yaşar and said, 'Everything is great, our relationship with the headquarters is good.' Then she has a meeting and everything changes. Whatever they are showing her, whatever they are threatening her with... This has now turned into a strong suspicion. She had previously promised me, 'I have no intention of switching anywhere.'"

Stating that he personally intervened following the allegations regarding Köksal's husband, Özel shared the details of the phone call he made:

"The AKP media was talking about some of her husband's business dealings. I called her and said, 'We will stand behind you. If your husband did something wrong, divorce your husband if necessary, but don't do this to your party. Don't be a partner to the wrong, the party will stand behind you like a fortress.' However, at the point we have reached, it doesn't look like Ms. Burcu is going to come out tomorrow and make a reasonable explanation."

"I WILL SAY SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME"

"Now, I will say something here for the first time. You know, it's happening on Sözcü Newspaper's television...

These are the minister's title deeds. By the way, he filed a lawsuit against you, right? We also filed a lawsuit against him. In that lawsuit, I hope the judge, in front of all of Turkey, will neither be afraid nor show a display of courage. When he asks for these title deed numbers from the ministry via official letter, everything will come to light.

I am already telling you about a piece of evidence that I will reveal here for the first time. Look, here in İzmir, in Ankara, a total of three places... And three of these four records were obtained in the last three months. The others were also disposed of in the last 2-3 months so they wouldn't be seen. These title deeds exist. These title deeds have ID numbers here.

I have called out to Murat Kurum many times. Let him say: 'This ID number does not belong to this title deed.' That is, let him say, 'On that date, that title deed was not in Akın Gürlek's possession.'

We even know that Akın Gürlek asked the ministry, 'Can we delete the title deed records?' and received the answer, 'Records have been kept for 250 years, what are you deleting?'

Look, none of these IDs have been denied, and they cannot be denied. But now let me tell you something. I am saying to Murat Kurum: 'If it's a lie, say it's a lie; if it's true, say it's true.'

He isn't saying it, is he... Now something has come up there; there is something going on. There is a circular aimed at increasing municipal revenues. For this, the Ministry takes the sales made from Land Registry Offices and notifies the municipalities.

It says: 'A change of ownership occurred here, here, here. If they haven't applied to you, don't miss it, call them, process it; get what is owed, increase your revenue, collect your property tax.'

Some people buy them in the land registry but don't notify the municipality, so it isn't seen.

According to that circular, all 16 of these 16 title deeds are in the routine letters sent to municipalities in various provinces and districts of Turkey, isn't that good?

So, Akın Gürlek bought these places a while ago, and I am notifying you so that if he doesn't come and pay the property tax, if he doesn't register it in his name, the municipality can process it into its revenue.

This practice is the Ministry of Finance's routine practice. So that Kayseri Municipality's revenue also increases, so that Manisa Municipality's revenue also increases. So that there is no smuggling.

"ÖZEL CALLED OUT TO MURAT KURUM: 'HERE IS YOUR PROOF'"

Because someone buys it, sells it after a certain period; you don't know that. They have to come and apply. If they aren't applying...

I am asking Murat Kurum now:

You are sending these letters to all municipalities, right? Did these letters regarding these 16 title deeds go to municipalities in various parts of Turkey or not?

Here is your proof. Now their calculation is this: The head of the court will be afraid. We will ask for the title deeds. And he will say, 'There is no need.'

A title deed record is this or that, it is not secret; title deed records are public.

He thinks that I won't question the acquisition of 465 million TL worth of real estate, which a chief public prosecutor would obtain if he saved his salary for 190 years. Because they can't do any other job. It is forbidden.

And it is alleged that there is an 'IMM stock market.' It is alleged that there is enrichment through that stock market. I asked these questions. In response: 'Aren't you going to behave? Are you stirring things up? Wait a minute, can I stir things up for you in Antalya? Can I stir things up in Uşak?' they said.

How many lies there were... What things they said. What they are forcing the people to believe... But each one is collapsing one by one. Look, it's very clear: Apart from these 16 title deeds, he bought a house from Tema. He doesn't even have the deed yet, it hasn't been transferred to his name. He denied it.

Tema published a press release: 'He bought it, but we didn't give it cheaply, we gave it at its value.'

Look, Senfoni Evleri... In a magnificent place in Istanbul, worth 95 million TL. Buyer's name and surname: Akın Gürlek. Emlak Konut sales transaction, initials and all...

Emlak Konut cannot deny this. Let Murat Kurum deny it, let's see. Is Emlak Konut's document like this?

Just look at this alone, apart from these 16 title deeds, 96 million TL worth... I mean, if one considers that a house in Anatolia is normally 3 million TL, he is buying a place in Senfoni Evleri for the price of 30 houses in Anatolia.

Now he thinks that they will find a slanderer for me, Özgür Özel, saying: 'I collected it from here and there, took it and delivered it.' They couldn't make the gas station business stick. There is no base, there is no one."

ABSOLUTE NULLITY AGENDA

"Now there is a process here trying to pit the party's former chair against the new chair. 'If there is absolute nullity, this will happen, that will happen' and so on...

Oh, it's a shame. In this party, those you call 'former chair' are: Hikmet Çetin, the late Altan Öymen, İsmet Paşa, Bülent Ecevit, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Deniz Baykal.

So there is nothing else. Oh, this happened, that happened... The decision the delegate made in the hall is a decision made with their conscience. They filed a lot of lawsuits regarding these. They found a lot of crazy people, they found slanderers. People who are not delegates...

Now I don't want to mention their names and make them famous, but the statements of disgraceful people who are not delegates... The court in Ankara is hearing the case. Come and listen to the court. The judge in court says: 'You said this.' 'That's what I heard.' 'Who did you hear it from?' 'I forgot.' The judge says: 'Is there such a thing as testifying by saying "I forgot"?'

Just the other day, a prosecutor said: 'Let's listen to this one too.' Our lawyer said: 'No way, are we going to listen to that one too?' They asked me. I said, 'It's a good thing.'

It would be incomplete if they weren't heard. Then they would say: 'There was a madman, if they had listened to him, he would have proven it.' Let them come, let them explain, let them prove it. Let's see who is saying what."

"IF ABSOLUTE NULLITY IS COMING, IT HAS A LESSON TO LEARN"

"Absolute nullity will not come. If it is coming, it has a lesson to learn. It's free to try; I am saying this for Erdoğan. It won't come under normal conditions today. No lawyer with common sense would say such a thing. It is already obvious that the application period is three months, and that after the objection periods for individuals expire and the certificate of election is given, it is impossible to cancel it; otherwise, election law would be completely crippled.

If you establish a system where you can cancel the congresses of political parties from any court of first instance in any part of Turkey, this eliminates legal security for political parties. Tomorrow we become the government. What will we do? Let's have an absolute nullity for the AK Party... Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is gone, Abdullah Gül came instead, etc... Can such a thing happen? On the other hand, let absolute nullity come for Devlet Bahçeli too... It won't happen. This is not something that can be understood.

Moreover, three more congresses have been held since that congress. Especially the last one, starting from the neighborhoods; the delegates elected the neighborhood, the province, the district, the headquarters, and the chair. So the process was done from scratch. That's why the first-instance court said 'the case has become moot.' But it also went into the merits. You know how they say 'it was overturned on procedural grounds'... No. The court said: 'A new congress was held, the case has become moot.' But even if it hadn't become moot for a moment, it said, it also went into the merits. Because there is an approach in doctrine: In a case that has become moot, go into the merits a little so that the other party doesn't say later 'if it hadn't become moot, I would have been right.'

In the merits, it also expressed clearly that there is no such thing and will not be. Now the file is in the appellate court. Some people say: 'I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the appellate court judge.' So much speculation, talk... I hope they make a decision quickly so it ends. But absolute nullity is not a decision that can be made within the normal legal order. The criminal case regarding the congress is a different case. There, individuals can receive sentences from one to three years. If you find concrete evidence...

But going back three years and canceling the congress is not possible. It's not something that will happen. What if it happens? There would be very heavy political pressure. I don't know the relevant panel, but I am saying this independently of the individuals: This can only happen with extraordinary political pressure and coercion." Look, let the court make its own decision, but trying to interfere with the Republican People's Party with such methods is free to try.

That's it. Oh, if absolute nullity comes, this will happen, that will happen... Let them try. The AK Party would be devastated. The nation does not forgive such things. Very clear. Oh, CHP is going to establish another party... I said it before: Is there a backup party? Yes. But not against absolute nullity; against a closure case. The field of struggle in absolute nullity is the Republican People's Party itself. We do not take authority here that the delegate did not give. And we will not leave the flag the delegate put in our hands to anyone."

'AKIN GÜRLEK SPEAKS WITH ERDOĞAN VIA CRYPTO-PHONE'

"I watched with sadness yesterday. You were the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, and the Aziz İhsan Aktaş investigation was conducted under your chief prosecution. The information of everyone who gave their phone password trusting the state was scattered and gone. İmamoğlu's brother-in-law said that the prosecutor was blackmailing him with private information on his phone. He says it is not right to spread images that violate the privacy of private life. These are entrusted to you, they are in your hands. He brought his press consultant with him. He gave an office. At first, messages were being sent from the press group, when I said something, they started being sent individually from private accounts. There is a hand that gives the same briefing to four journalists at the same time during a live broadcast. They are trying to conduct a psychological operation and direct Turkey's politics.

Let's sit straight and talk straight. He is the one who says it's the corruption of the century, who says Euros came out from under the parquet, who had MHP members' vehicles serviced as İmamoğlu's vehicles, who had jammers serviced. All the pro-government journalists shared these lies, they didn't put them in the indictment. He will come to Ankara and start pretending to be a politician, pretending to be a human... If the unsolved murders are to be clarified now, did the minister appointed by Erdoğan two or three ministers ago close their names?

"Until I said it, he was going to find Erdoğan on Fridays in the VIP room of the Hz. Ali Mosque. You haven't been talking since I said that."

"Now there is a crypto-phone between you, he speaks with Erdoğan via crypto-phone, he gives information about all judicial processes via crypto-phone."

"He tells those close to him, his circle, by lowering his voice, 'I am also wiretapping Erdoğan, they can't do anything to me.' If Mr. Erdoğan hasn't heard, I am reporting it. He says he is recording the crypto-phone."

"The information Akın Gürlek provided to you, the issue of 'We found 10 pots of gold in Ekrem İmamoğlu's father's garden,' is a lie, but he tells Erdoğan, 'I found it, I have the proof, don't worry.' I am announcing to Mr. Erdoğan, yes, that excavation was done and nothing was found, we have the search records."

"Akın Gürlek gives many statements to Erdoğan via crypto-phone, half true, half false, and receives instructions from his own mouth, for example 'sir, shall we do this?', and he says 'of course, of course,' and he records these, 'they can't do anything to me tomorrow, I am recording Erdoğan's voice,' clear, I am saying it this clearly."

These have started to become a threat to your friends and their families, to you. He who falls by himself does not cry. Don't cry later. A lot is known and talked about. This man's attempts to establish connections with various mafia-like groups, etc... Whatever you hear, sit down, come together. Share this information with each other. It's a national security issue. Misleading the President."

News Source: 12punto