ISTANBUL (Medyascope) – Three public officials from Turkey’s Directorate of Land Registry have been removed from office following last week’s exposé of the wealth and assets allegedly belonging to newly appointed Justice Minister Akın Gürlek by opposition leader Özgür Özel. Of the three officials, one has been detained.
In an announcement last week, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairman Özgür Özel alleged assets belonging to the Justice Minister totalling some 452 million Turkish Liras ($10.2 million), including numerous properties across multiple Turkish cities. If true, the assets would amount to a fortune far exceeding Gürlek’s salary as a civil servant, raising eyebrows especially in opposition circles.
Gürlek denied Özel’s allegations, promising to pursue legal proceedings for libel damages.
Prior to his appointment to the Justice Ministry in February, Gürlek served as Istanbul Chief Prosecutor, in which he opened investigations and ordered detentions of opposition figures that many critics claimed were politically motivated. Among the indictments prepared by Gürlek in Istanbul is a case seeking a nearly 2400-year prison sentence for imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, seen as Turkey’s most viable challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Directorate of Land Registry employee detained in the case was apprehended in Turkey’s southern district of Kaş. The employee in question, whose identity has not been revealed, reportedly looked into Gürlek’s title deeds at the insistence of a woman he had met online. The suspected employee’s decision to share his findings was reportedly influenced by a psychiatric mediation he had been taking. In his statement, the suspect expressed regret, saying he had not intended to publish defaming information against the Justice Minister.
The two other public officials, who have been removed from office but not detained, are from the provinces of Çorum and Afyonkarahisar.
Yıldıray Çiçek, a columnist and advisor to Erdoğan’s main coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli, released a piece today (March 24) requesting a more thorough explanation from Gürlek regarding his wealth and assets.
Özel shares documents substantiating last week’s allegations
In a speech made at the Turkish Parliament earlier today (March 24), Özel attempted to substantiate last week’s claims by sharing copies of a housing contract from a property allegedly belonging to Gürlek in a gated community on the western edges of Istanbul.
Officials suspended following exposé of Justice Minister’s assets | Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
