Statement from Akın Gürlek on the Ahbap investigation: Donations must be accounted for

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek made statements regarding the investigation into the Ahbap Association, in which artist Haluk Levent was also arrested. Gürlek stated that the investigation is important in terms of auditing donations made with the good intentions of citizens, and emphasized that transparency in non-governmental organizations is a legal obligation.

Gürlek expressed that transparent non-governmental organizations operating in areas where they are needed during disaster periods are important for society. However, stating that the field of civil society cannot be used as a shield to evade legal oversight, Gürlek said, "Every penny collected as a donation must be accounted for regarding where and for what purpose it was used. No one can exploit the situation of mutual aid."

Stating that judicial decisions can be discussed and criticized in democratic societies, Gürlek said that criticism and targeting judges and prosecutors are different things. Minister Gürlek stated that approaches aimed at creating pressure on members of the judiciary will not be permitted.

Saying "Everyone is equal before the law," Gürlek stated that justice will not operate according to position, wealth, title, or political identity. He noted that their primary goal is to further advance a system in which citizens have confidence in justice.

In his statement, Gürlek also touched upon cold cases, the fight against criminal organizations, FETÖ investigations, the fight against drugs, and sanctions against actions known as IBAN renting. Stating that proceedings have been initiated to shed light on unsolved murders in 19 files to date, Gürlek said that no file will be left to the "darkness of time."

Minister Gürlek also announced that 83 percent of the files for which conciliation negotiations were completed resulted in an agreement, and approximately 1 million 448 thousand files were concluded within the scope of serial proceedings and simple trial procedures. He stated that the purpose of the regulations regarding children dragged into crime is to prevent children from turning to crime again.

News Source: 12punto