Özgür Çelik reacts to the arrest of İnan Güney with 'copy-paste' criticism: 'In 21st-century Turkey'

The latest in a series of relentless operations targeting CHP-run municipalities was carried out against the Beyoğlu Municipality. As part of the operation, 44 people, including Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, were detained.

Today, İnan Güney and 16 others were arrested after being referred to court with a request for detention, while judicial control measures were applied to 27 people.

Making statements in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse, CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik reacted to the arrests. Çelik said, "Today, they applied a new method in the Turkish legal system. In 21st-century Turkey, we witnessed something that is beyond description. They made arrests today using a 'copy-paste' method. That is, they arrested people here today using a copy-and-paste method," he said.

In his statement, Çelik used the following expressions:

"I am underlining this again and again: they arrested the Beyoğlu Mayor and 17 people today without any concrete material evidence. Moreover, as has been the case for 300 days, they have gone so far that they have started to intrude into families. They kept İnan Güney's sister in the basement of the Vatan Police Headquarters for three days. She is a housewife. No bank transactions, no cell tower records, no company in her name, nothing else. A housewife. For three days, they tortured her in the basement of the Vatan Police Headquarters. Murat Ongun's brother-in-law, Ekrem İmamoğlu's drivers, İnan Güney's driver, people from the families of these individuals...

They are persecuting families and spouses. Look, here is someone who just got married, a year ago, six months ago. You arrest their spouse, and they walk down the courthouse steps here with tears in their eyes. People's families, mothers, fathers, 60-70-year-old people have been waiting on the sidewalk of the Vatan Police Headquarters for three days. They have been waiting on the sidewalk of the Çağlayan Courthouse since this morning. Is this persecution to be inflicted on these people? Can a family be arrested? Wasn't this declared the year of the family? Wasn't the family sacred? Weren't families supposed to be off-limits to politics? Is this justice, is this conscience?

"THEY MADE ARRESTS TODAY IN 21ST-CENTURY TURKEY USING A COPY-PASTE METHOD"

Today, they applied a new method in the Turkish legal system. In 21st-century Turkey, we witnessed something that is beyond description. They made arrests today using a 'copy-paste' method. That is, they arrested people here today using a copy-and-paste method. Now, a member of the press whose name I don't know showed me the prosecutor's referral document to the judgeship for detention from among these 44 people. There are nine people there, including the IMM drivers, the Beyoğlu Mayor, and young people who made social media posts. They put the same text for all of them. With the same text for all of them. How can a mayor, a driver, and a young person who made a social media post be arrested with the same text? Is this justice, is this law?

They won't waste time with the copy-paste method. I suppose our friends are in a hurry. Referral for detention for nine people with the same texts using the copy-paste method, and except for one person, people among them are being arrested. They serve in different institutions. Some are driving, like Ekrem İmamoğlu's drivers. Some posted on social media, another is the Beyoğlu Mayor. Can there be such justice?

The issue with İnan Güney is this: No concrete evidence has been presented against İnan Güney today. Neither at the police stage nor at the courthouse stage. There is not a single piece of concrete evidence. It is based on slanders thrown by three or four people who held a grudge against him. People who became his enemies because he did not give them tenders. Do you know what he said? He said, 'I will conduct tenders transparently. Everyone will submit their bid, and whoever deserves it will get the tender.' They arrested the Beyoğlu Mayor today with the statements of people who did not get tenders and who benefited from the effective remorse mechanism, that is, the mechanism of being a slanderer. They arrested the Beyoğlu Mayor entirely with the slanderous petitions of people who held personal grudges."

News Source: 12punto