First statement from Mansur Yavaş following the arrest of Ümit Erkol: Disproportionate, arbitrary

Nine people, including CHP Ankara Provincial Chair Ümit Erkol, have been arrested as part of an investigation conducted by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into allegations of irregularities involving İZBETON A.Ş.

Following the arrest decision, a statement came from Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Yavaş.

Mansur Yavaş used the following expressions regarding the arrest decision on his social media account:

"We have received the news that our Ankara Provincial Chair Ümit Erkol has been arrested.

Our Provincial Chair is a person with a known address, a clear duty, and is in the public eye...

There is no suspicion of flight, and there is no possibility of tampering with evidence. If an arrest decision is made despite this, one cannot speak of law here.

Because the most fundamental principle of law is clear:

Detention is the exception; the rule is trial without detention.

But today we see that,

this situation, which should be the exception, has been consciously turned into the rule.

This decision is not only a harm to one person;

it is a harm to legal security, the sense of justice, and the conscience of society.

No one is saying 'let there be no trial'.

But we do not accept disproportion, arbitrariness, and the judiciary turning into a tool of oppression.

These decisions made today will emerge as a greater justice problem for this country tomorrow."

We have received the news that our Ankara Provincial Chair Ümit Erkol has been arrested.

Our Provincial Chair is a person with a known address, a clear duty, and is in the public eye...
There is no suspicion of flight, and there is no possibility of tampering with evidence. If an arrest decision is made despite this, one cannot speak of law here.

Because the law...

— Mansur Yavaş (@mansuryavas06) April 12, 2026

News Source: 12punto