Statement from the DMM regarding CHP Chairman Özel's remarks on members of the judiciary

The Presidential Communications Directorate's Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM) has issued a statement regarding CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's remarks concerning members of the judiciary. The statement said, "No one has the right to influence or direct ongoing investigations by targeting judicial authorities. The claim of having information about files under confidentiality orders is a clear disinformation activity aimed at undermining trust in the judiciary."

The statement, which noted that distorting ongoing judicial processes with labels such as "operation," "conspiracy," or "political revenge" is an attempt to obstruct the administration of justice by dragging a legal matter into the political arena, reminded that the investigation conducted into urban transformation cooperatives in İzmir is a process initiated entirely by the independent judiciary on its own initiative, based on allegations of irregularities.

Pointing out that the current İzmir Metropolitan Municipality has also fulfilled the requirements of public duty within the scope of the investigation, the statement recorded the following:

"Mr. Özel's expression, 'Whoever competes with Akın Gürlek will eventually be held accountable along with Akın Gürlek,' is a reckless language of threat directed at judicial authorities and is incompatible with the principles of a state of law. Claims based on no concrete evidence, such as 'Erdoğan is aware of all of them,' regarding an ongoing judicial investigation, aim to politicize judicial processes and increase polarization. No one has the right to influence or direct ongoing investigations by targeting judicial authorities. The claim of having information about files under confidentiality orders is a clear disinformation activity aimed at undermining trust in the judiciary.

The Republic of Turkey is a state of law. In a state of law, everyone has the right to be tried equally and fairly before the judiciary. The legal nature of current investigations cannot be questioned by citing past judicial processes as examples. Each case is evaluated and decided upon within itself, in light of the evidence. We invite political leaders to avoid rhetoric that would damage social peace and the rule of law, to respect judicial decisions, and to trust in the administration of justice instead of interfering with judicial processes."

News Source: 12punto