His remarks about Syrians had become a hot topic: Investigation launched into Tanju Özcan

CHP Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan was a guest on Fatih Altaylı's YouTube channel. The remarks Özcan made during the program became a hot topic.

Discussing the policies he implemented toward Syrian refugees in the city, Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan said, "They receive enough aid from the state; I said I would not provide a single penny of aid from the Bolu Municipality budget. I removed the signs overnight, and I also canceled their licenses unlawfully. Of course, with the power and momentum at that time, they couldn't even file a lawsuit. Currently, there is not a single Arabic sign in Bolu."

"THE THINGS I DID WERE UNLAWFUL"

In response to Altaylı's question, "Were the things you did unlawful?", Özcan replied as follows:

"They were unlawful. If they had gone to the administrative judiciary, they might have won, but in politics, the time you are strongest is when you are newly elected. This created a shock wave; they couldn't understand what was happening. When I saw that there wasn't enough of an exodus, and I am a lawyer myself, I raised the fees for marriage ceremonies and water. This was not legal either. I knew this would be overturned by the administrative court. It was overturned before the tariff even went into effect anyway."

INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED

Following this admission, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç announced that an investigation has been initiated into Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan.

An investigation has been launched by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the Mayor of Bolu regarding the statements he made about Syrians in our country.

— Yılmaz TUNÇ (@yilmaztunc) January 5, 2025

News Source: 12punto