Özel faces investigations over remarks on prosecutor

ANKARA

Prosecutors in Istanbul and Ankara have launched separate ex officio investigations into main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel over remarks targeting Istanbul's chief prosecutor Akın Gürlek.

The prosecutor’s office in Istanbul announced the investigation late on June 4, citing potential charges of “threatening a judicial officer to prevent him from performing his duty” and “publicly insulting a public official due to his duty.”

A day later, the Ankara office said it had opened a parallel inquiry. The probes follow Özel’s speech on June 4 during a rally in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district, where he criticized Gürlek over a recent wave of arrests targeting the CHP.

"Akın, you hit a stone wall, pal ... We are at the end of our patience, come to your senses," he said, addressing Gürlek by name. "We protest like gentlemen and then disperse. But don't piss me off, we could gather so as not to disperse."

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç condemned the remarks in a post on X as a "threat to the judiciary" and an "open attack on the rule of law."

The CHP responded to the investigations with a series of public posts by senior figures, including Özgür Çelik, Murat Emir and Erhan Adem.

In the fifth wave of a sweeping corruption probe into Istanbul Municipality operations, 22 of 38 individuals detained were arrested, including five district mayors — three from Istanbul and two from the southern city of Adana.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, was arrested on March 23, five days after his diploma from Istanbul University was revoked. He had been declared the party’s presidential candidate by supporters on the same day as the arrest, which led to his removal from office by the Interior Ministry.