CHP's Özgür Özel: Süleyman Soylu abets criminals

İklim Öngel
 
CHP Group Deputy Chair Özgür Özel, pointing to the operations aimed at removing CHP mayors from office, has stated that the phones never stop ringing with tip-offs about AKP municipalities. Özel, coming public with claims about the AKP’s Trabzon Metropolitan Mayor Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoğlu, Eceabat Mayor Adem Ejder and Karapınar Mayor Mustafa Tiftik, commented: “We do not favour anyone evading the law and it is Süleyman Soylu who is keeping in office people who have been unable to evade the law, were apprehended and sentenced, with their sentences having attained finality.”
 
The CHP’s Özel spoke of the increasing number of CHP mayors being removed from office by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. Özel, saying that after the Isle of Man affair came to light Soylu made comments about Ataşehir Municipality and laid down the gauntlet, posed the questions, “When matters turn to Soylu, files come pouring in and reaction comes pouring in from the whole country. They tell us to ask Soylu this or that. There was talk of the Trabzon Metropolitan Mayor being made to resign, and the necessary action being taken if he resisted resignation. The mayor is currently in no-man’s land. They say if everyone is being tackled why is Trabzon Metropolitan Mayor Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoğlu not being tackled? Is it true that, with Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoğlu seemingly on his own in the AKP, Gümrükçüoğlu is from Trabzon, Minister Soylu is from Trabzon and Chair of the Civil Service Inspection Board that will conduct the investigation, Ömer Seymenoğlu, is from Trabzon and the case has been pushed back as far as possible? What came of this inspection board examination of Trabzon? Why has it still not started? Where is Ömer Seymenoğlu in this? Why are the reactions of AKP people who are uncomfortable with this being fobbed off by Soylu? Why does the inspection process, carried out at jet speed when it comes to a CHP municipality, come to a halt at an AKP municipality?” Özel, describing how Nevşehir Karapınar Mayor Mustafa Tiftik had been sentenced for abuse of position and sentenced to imprisonment before his sentence had been commuted into a fine, said, “The relevant statutory article has is that if the charge is abuse of position, they shall be barred from office. There are the ongoing investigations and suspensions at CHP municipalities. In this case, however, it was investigated, taken to court and there was determined to have been abuse of position in a court ruling and action has not been taken in accordance with the relevant statute. Mustafa Tiftik is currently still in office.”
 
Prosecutor says he cannot be in office
 
Özel, saying that Eceabat Municipality was even more interesting, commented, “He was imprisoned for various offences, the sentence attained finality, he went to jail, was barred from public office on being jailed and the correspondence in connection with this was drafted. He gets probation. The Prime Ministry Communication Centre sent a reply bearing the signature of Republic Prosecutor Mehmet Çetinkaya. It reads, ‘True, he was sentenced, barred from public office and cannot subsequently serve in public office.’ The administration, the Interior Ministry, says, ‘There is a sentence, there was imprisonment, there is finality and there is a bar from public office’.” Özel, saying they do not favour anyone evading the law, commented, “It is Süleyman Soylu who is keeping in office people who have been unable to evade the law, were apprehended and sentenced, with their sentences having attained finality. It was Süleyman Soylu who awarded public office to a criminal who neglected his duty, abetted criminals and had been barred from public office. Complaint phone calls are coming in from the whole of Turkey. The cases to have come in so far are here and dozens are on the way. Let the AKP make an announcement about this.”