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Ankara’s chief public prosecutor on Wednesday launched an investigation into Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel over alleged insults against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, following remarks he made after visiting imprisoned figures, including suspended Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu.
Özel had traveled to Marmara Prison to meet Imamoğlu, who was removed from office after being arrested in a corruption probe, as well as several other detainees.
Speaking to reporters afterward, he rejected claims that Aydın Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu would join the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), instead accusing political consultant Aziz Ihsan Aktaş of working with multiple municipalities and claiming CHP-affiliated mayors faced pressure to either defect to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) or face prosecution.
“They tell Özlem Çerçioğlu, ‘Since you worked with Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, either be jailed or join our party.’ This ‘join us or go to prison’ formula is unacceptable,” Özel said.
The comments sparked a swift backlash from government officials. AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik said on social media:
“We strongly condemn the CHP leader’s disrespectful remarks toward our president. What Özel is doing is not politics — he has become a source of political poison.”
He accused Özel of “political aggression and lies” and vowed to respond with “all our political strength,” adding that protecting the president’s honor was a core principle for the AK Party.
AK Party Deputy Chair Efkan Ala also condemned Özel’s words, calling them “excessive, inappropriate and ugly.”
Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said politics should be conducted with decorum and style, criticizing Özel for using “insulting language” and airing “internal political contradictions” in a manner “unacceptable in terms of political courtesy and ethics.”
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç similarly denounced Özel’s language, describing it as “an overt attack” on the national will and saying it had “gone beyond a matter of style” into a violation of political norms.
“Politics must be conducted within the limits of decency and morality,” Tunç said. “The CHP leader’s inappropriate language has gone beyond a matter of style and has become something that exceeds political courtesy. Our nation will never allow politics based on slander and defamation, just as it has not until now.”
Under Turkish law, insulting the president is a criminal offense that can carry prison time if convicted. The CHP, Türkiye’s main opposition party, has frequently criticized the statute, arguing it limits free speech.
