Erdogan appoints prosecutor who led opposition crackdown/ Quarrel erupts in Turkish parliament

2026-02-11 20:54:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Erdogan appoints prosecutor who led opposition crackdown/ Quarrel erupts in

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan appointed Akin Gurlek, the Istanbul chief prosecutor behind the unprecedented crackdown on the main opposition party, as his new justice minister, drawing sharp criticism and opposition from within the party on Wednesday.

Since his appointment as chief prosecutor in 2024, Gurlek has overseen a wave of arrests and indictments targeting the Republican People's Party (CHP), including investigations into Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main political rival, who has been imprisoned since his arrest in March last year.

In a 4,000-page indictment last November, Gurlek sought a prison sentence of more than 2,000 years for Imamoglu for allegedly running a vast corruption network, sparking Turkey's biggest street protests in a decade.

The first hearing in that case, which accuses hundreds of defendants linked to the Istanbul municipality of corruption and bribery, will be held next month.

A brawl broke out in Turkey's parliament before Gurlek's swearing-in, as opposition lawmakers protested against his appointment.

Leading opposition CHP deputies gathered around the party chairman's podium to block Gurlek, calling his appointment "an attack on the rule of law." Television footage showed lawmakers pushing and punching and ruling AK Party lawmakers forming a protective circle around Gurlek as he read his oath.

FIRST CABINET CHANGE SINCE 2023, VOTE

In the first cabinet reshuffle since the 2023 mid-term elections, Gurlek replaced Yilmaz Tunc, who was first elected as a member of parliament in 2007.

The announcement in the Official Gazette also said that Erdogan had appointed the governor of Erzurum province, Mustafa Ciftci, as interior minister, replacing Ali Yerlikaya, who was Istanbul governor before his appointment as minister.

No reason was given for the change in line.

Hundreds of party members and elected officials have been detained in the Gurlek crackdown, which has been criticized as anti-democratic and politicized by opposition parties, human rights groups and some foreign leaders - claims the government denies, saying the judiciary is independent.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said Gurlek's appointment to the cabinet was a continuation of a "judicial coup attempt" while he was a prosecutor and constituted the latest step in a major attack on his party.

"We will not surrender... They cannot stop our march to power," Ozel told reporters at a memorial service for a former party leader, adding that there was no longer any fair political competition. / CNA