Dawn raid on Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey: Reaction from CHP was swift

The CHP has reacted to the detention order issued for Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey and the search conducted at his home, labeling it a “political operation.” Arguing that the manner in which the investigation is being conducted is unlawful, the CHP stated that the actions taken in the early morning hours undermine the presumption of innocence and reinforce criticisms that the judiciary is being instrumentalized against opposition municipalities.

A detention order has been issued for Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey. It was reported that a search was conducted at Bozbey’s home and that a large number of people were detained as part of the operation.

According to the prosecutor’s office, simultaneous operations were carried out in Bursa, Istanbul, Balıkesir, and Diyarbakır as part of the Bursa-based investigation. The statement indicated that proceedings were initiated against a total of 59 suspects, 55 of whom have been detained, while efforts to apprehend the remaining 4 individuals are ongoing.

Among those detained are reportedly Bozbey’s wife, daughter, siblings, and several individuals from his municipal circle. The prosecutor’s office announced that the investigation is being conducted under allegations of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,” “membership in an organization,” and “laundering assets derived from crime.”

CHP REACTS TO POLITICAL OPERATION

The first political reactions to the operation came from the CHP front. CHP Group Deputy Chairman Gökhan Günaydın, in a statement on his social media account, drew attention to the timing of the operation and the municipalities targeted.

Günaydın said, “Information is coming in that a search is being conducted at the home of our Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey.” Addressing Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, Günaydın asked, “Is there any AKP member who has been raided at their home at the crack of dawn?”

Günaydın argued that the fact that such operations are conducted only against CHP-run municipalities among all municipalities in Turkey amounts to “injustice and the instrumentalization of the judiciary/law enforcement.” Günaydın stated the following:

"Information is coming in that a search is being conducted at the home of our Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey.

Let us ask the Interior Minister, who announces the number of investigation permits granted to AKP municipalities:

Is there any AKP member who has been raided at their home at the crack of dawn?

If the fact that no AKP or MHP municipality has been detained or arrested among the 1407 municipalities in Turkey, while all operations are directed at CHP municipalities, is not injustice and the instrumentalization of the judiciary/law enforcement, then what is it?"

TANAL CRITICIZES PROCEDURE

CHP Şanlıurfa MP Mahmut Tanal also reacted to the method of the operation. Tanal said that conducting a search at Bozbey’s home created a strong impression in the public eye that the investigation is political.

Pointing to Article 145 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Tanal reminded that a person whose statement is to be taken should first be summoned by invitation. Criticizing the fact that a search was conducted directly at the home in the early hours of the morning without such a summons, Tanal stated that this method is not the “ordinary path of law.”

Tanal said that this practice undermines the presumption of innocence, shakes legal security, and casts a shadow over the principle of a fair trial.

Stating that “the law must be applied equally to everyone,” Tanal expressed that the methods applied to CHP municipalities should also be valid for AKP and MHP municipalities, otherwise it would be seen as an arbitrary practice:

"The search of Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey’s home has created signs in the public eye that this investigation is political.

Look, the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK) 145 is clear:

The person whose statement is to be taken is first summoned by invitation.

But what do we see?

In the early hours of the morning,

without a summons,

a search directly at his home…

This method is not the ordinary path of law.

This practice undermines the presumption of innocence.

It shakes legal security.

It casts a shadow over the principle of a fair trial.

If you are a state of law:

—You summon them first.

—Then you take action.

But you conduct the operation first,

and then try to justify the law.

This is unacceptable.

I say it clearly:

The law must be applied equally to everyone.

The methods applied to CHP municipalities,

must also be applied to AKP and MHP municipalities.

Or these arbitrary methods should not be applied to anyone at all.

We do not want privilege,

we want equal and fair trial.

The law cannot be bent and twisted according to politics"

News Source: 12punto