The investigations against AK Party members are a reflection of the struggle within the cliques that emerged in preparation for the post-Erdogan period. They started to sacrifice someone. One will hunt the other's man, the other will expose his man. We will see the boiling cauldron in the AK Party through operations.
Those who rely on operations and infer that "the government is crumbling and collapsing" are deeply mistaken. This is their inner fight. This fight does not mean that they are weakened or will give up power. They still hold all the state's resources in their hands and never want to let them go.
Criminal lawyer Prof. Dr. Hasan Sınar answered Cumhuriyet's questions.
- A decision is awaited on the nullity file sent to the Supreme Court just before the start of the judicial recess. What is your prediction?
The absolute nullity file is a completely unlawful process. Since it is a political case, how it will end will be determined by the political agenda. If those appointed by absolute nullity to the main opposition party are deemed politically useful, this process continues, but it can also be canceled if it is deemed that they have become "useless". Unfortunately, I have long lost my belief that in today's Turkey, political cases, including the higher judicial bodies, are decided only in accordance with legal practices.
- Shortly after the Butlan decision, the New Party was established. There are also comments that the decision may be overturned in the Supreme Court in order to create a political deadlock. Do you agree that you also stated that political action will be taken?
All these rumors and rumors are proof that the process is not carried out legally. Many people think that this option can be used to defeat the New Party, but judicial authorities cannot have such a function. Judicial authorities close their eyes to the outside world and make a decision in accordance with their conscientious opinion in any legal dispute that comes before them, taking into account the law and jurisprudence. However, in Turkey, this happens exactly the opposite. Therefore, I think a decision will be made here based on what will be functional for the current political power. In this respect, the New Party must now proceed with confidence until the general election, in accordance with the road map it has determined, without caring at all what the Supreme Court will decide in this case.
- An investigation was launched against former Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Melih Gökçek, whose son and daughter-in-law were not taken into account despite the numerous criminal complaints made before, and Gökçek testified. Why today, after so many years?
As a truly former mayor, Melih Gökçek came upon invitation and testified. I am glad that the prosecutor's office experienced such an enlightenment in terms of acting in accordance with the requirements of the law, especially in an investigation regarding elected politicians. I wish it were always like this. Because for the last year and a half, we have gotten used to operations being carried out at the homes of elected mayors at dawn, but it turns out it doesn't have to be like this. In accordance with the procedure stipulated in the law, mayors can also be invited with a call sheet.
'NO LEGAL EXPLANATION'
Gökçek was made to resign by the president in 2017 before his term ended, but even this was not questioned at that time. After Mansur Yavaş became mayor, he brought many files related to the Gökçek period to court, but a decision of non-prosecution was given regarding most of them. But what happened years later, in 2026, the button was suddenly pressed for Gökçek. Unfortunately, like other examples, it is not possible to explain this development with law.
- It is said that the operations carried out against the opposition have been legitimized, especially by taking action for Gökçek...
When the issue is addressed on an individual basis, we go to the wrong point. Currently, the launch of an investigation into Gökçek is met with great enthusiasm. This is not the case, these processes are not carried out emotionally. If it is said about Gökçek, "Isn't it the same judiciary that arrested İmamoğlu, Gökçek should also be arrested", there is a risk that all similar unlawful practices in the recent period will gain legitimacy. Please everyone calm down. Our stance should not be based on revanchist sentimentality, but on scientific reason and rationality, which is required by law. Therefore, we must defend constitutional fundamental rights and freedoms for all 86 million of our citizens, regardless of who they are. In this country, all investigations must be conducted in accordance with the principles set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) and the law must be applied equally to everyone.
- Do you mean the opposition group?
Of course, I mainly mean social opposition. In fact, at this point today, there is great fear among the supporters of the government. Because this hasn't just begun. First Mehmet Akif Ersoy, then Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and lastly Cem Küçük, all of them were names close to the government, but they could not avoid being the target of the "arrest" practice. Now, all pro-government commentators on the same wavelength as these names are worried about whether it will be our turn. Once an illegal order is built, it is not clear who this illegal order will turn like a boomerang and hit.
'THEY DO NOT NEED A COVER OF LEGITIMACY'
- There are also comments regarding the Gökçek investigation that the groundwork is being prepared to prevent Mansur Yavaş's candidacy in the next election. Would you agree?
I don't find this realistic. Because I do not think that Mansur Yavaş or anyone else will have the slightest hesitation in the current political power's strategy of strengthening its power, which has been carried out through the judiciary until now. They do whatever they think is necessary to maintain their power without hesitation. Therefore, they neither need nor have to prepare such a cover of legitimacy.
- Former Minister of Internal Affairs İdnis Naim Şahin is also on the agenda of the judiciary. He testified and a travel ban was imposed on him. This is the first time we see an AKP minister being tried. On the other hand, the name of the last Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım is also being talked about. Do AKP members also think that it will be their turn?
I am satisfied that the process for Gökçek and Şahin was carried out in accordance with the law. I hope that the same sensitivity will be shown in all other investigations involving politicians. My political reading is as follows: I think that the esteemed president was deeply affected by an event that took place throughout his political life, even before he became the mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. This incident is the İSKİ scandal in 1993. You will remember, when this scandal broke out, it was on the agenda in newspapers and on television for months, and two separate movies were even shot about this scandal. This incident, just before the 1994 local elections, caused great damage to the SHP, which held the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality at that time, and caused the elections to be lost. Erdoğan learned a very basic lesson from this and a principle emerged. Look, in the AK Party's nearly quarter-century rule, we have always seen one basic principle: no matter what the issue is, any allegation of corruption, theft or bribery regarding the AK Party will never be accepted and will never be defended. Remember the ministers during the 17/25 December corruption allegations process, although there were very serious allegations, none of them could create the damage in the AK Party that the İSKİ scandal caused in the SHP. Because all allegations were strongly rejected, a disciplined denial policy was implemented until the end.
- Has this strategy been abandoned today?
Today it seems that a new phase has been reached. According to my reading, the recent investigations against some members of the AK Party are the result of the struggle of the cliques within the government, which has accumulated over the 25-year period of power, becoming unhidden. These are chess moves aimed at the fact that Mr. President's age and position have reached a certain point and to design the next process. Steps taken by cliques within the government regarding the Post Erdoğan period. We saw an example of this in Mehmet Akif Ersoy. The clique that Ersoy was close to was operated on by another clique. The same goes for Gökçek.
- An investigation was opened against former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu for insulting the president due to the speech he made 5 years ago. Will there be more?
I think it will continue, because as time progresses, the competition between cliques within the government escalates. The investigations against some AK Party members are actually a reflection of the struggle within the cliques that emerged as a preparation for the post-Erdogan period. They are now starting to sacrifice someone. I think this will continue. One will hunt the other's man, the other will expose his man. We will see the boiling cauldron within the AK Party with these operations.
'MEDET UMAN IS WRONG'
But those who infer from this that "the government is crumbling and collapsing" and who hope for help from these operations are gravely mistaken. This is their inner fight. This fight does not mean that they are weakened or will give up power. They still hold all the resources of the state and they never want to give it up.
-Won't the competition of internal cliques be reflected in the general election?
There will be no serious repercussions. Because there is no strong institutional structure like the AK Party in the Presidential Government System. Law proposals are being prepared in Beştepe. Both the personal and professional charisma of the President is far ahead of the corporate identity of the AK Party. People vote for Erdoğan. In other words, the internal struggles of the cliques preparing for the post-Erdoğan period do not have the slightest impact on the voting behavior of AK Party voters. Citizens look and ask, "Is there Erdoğan?" Finished.
'THE FRAMEWORK LAW IS LEGALLY PROBLEMED'
- When we spoke to you before the commission established in the Parliament for the process known as Terror-free Türkiye, we stated that one of the biggest problems would be the legal framework. You talked about the unconstitutionality of a special regulation for PKK members and said that the Constitutional Court would decide to annul it due to violation of the "principle of equality". The framework law has been passed, what happens if we go to the Constitutional Court today?
Whatever we said happened. CHP was very strong before entering the commission. Because the prerequisite for the commission and the process that led to the Framework Law to gain legitimacy was for Turkey's first party, CHP, under the leadership of Özgür Özel, to enter the commission. At that time, CHP should have said, "We will not enter the commission until the mayors are tried without detention," but the government's approach was "These things will be discussed in the commission." The commission was established, but operations against CHP municipalities continued unabated. It should not have been undertaken without imposing the preconditions, without getting a commitment from the government that the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the ECHR will be implemented, and without seeing the clear implementation.
- Today, we have reached the point of the Framework Law, which was passed by the Parliament with a large majority...
The Framework Law is problematic in many respects. Transparent action was not taken in such a fundamental regulation that concerns the whole society. Even the AK Party, MHP and DEM MPs who voted "yes" as a bloc did not know the content of the law before it came to the Parliament. The text is also problematic from a technical and legal perspective. It is said that this is not an amnesty, but how is it not? It includes both special and general amnesty for PKK members. A FETO member who has been sentenced to life imprisonment based on this law, which was issued specifically for the PKK, can request this from the court where he is tried. In this context, a court may say, "This provision you have introduced is against the principle of equality of the constitution. I am sending it to the Constitutional Court for concrete norm control." What will the Constitutional Court do then? Similar practices are obvious. Then, Fethullahists and members of any other terrorist organization you can think of can benefit from this.
'THE ASSEMBLY WAS USED'
On the other hand, the Parliament was used to pass laws. So why is the Parliament disabled in carrying out the process? The National Security Council (MGK), which has been the target of criticism in the past, today reports to the president. The balance control mechanism in the process is in the hands of the MGK alone. This structure, built with the slogan "We are fighting against military tutelage", is much more tutelary than in the past.
'THE ONE WHO IS STUBBORN WITH THE WILL OF THE NATION WILL LOSE'
- Following the arrest of Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, the cancellation of the election won by Sibel Tan Çetinkaya, and the subsequent detentions and the legal process, comments are made about "AKP's insistence on Üsküdar". What is your assessment?
I wholeheartedly agree with an emphasis made by Mr. President on this issue when he was still prime minister, because he would insistently say this. “The biggest theft is the theft of national will.” Voters in Üsküdar chose Sinem Dedetaş and gave the seal to her. But as in many other municipalities, the mayor of Üsküdar, Sinem Dedetaş, was imprisoned, and when the opposition won the municipal council election again, this time the election was annulled by a judicial decision, and in this process, opposition council members who would vote in the new election were detained. So all this is happening right before our eyes. Anyone with a little bit of intelligence and understanding sees what is what. These are very wrong and very unfortunate things for our democratic history. The only thing that matters in democracy is the will of the nation. He who persists with the will of the nation will lose. There is no exception to this. It has always been this way, and it will be this way again. If we have the chance, we will all see it firsthand in the first election.
- Former Minister Veysel Eroğlu explained in a publication how AKP's decision to close the Constitutional Court in the closure case changed. He explained that a Constitutional Court member went to his father-in-law, and that the father-in-law made his son-in-law vote not to close the party, almost by threatening him (I will disown you and take away my daughter), and that this was done with Erdoğan's approval, giving the names of the people. Is there any legal step that can be taken regarding these statements?
A number of similar anecdotes emerge over time regarding every judicial decision. The person you call a judge is a person made of flesh and bones. The judge is under the influence of many factors while the concept of will is being shaped. Unfortunately, this is the reality. On the other hand, not shutting down the AK Party was a very correct decision. The result of February 28 was the AK Party's rule, which lasted for a quarter of a century. Closing the ruling party would lead to an AK Party rule of not 25 years, but perhaps 40 years. If Tayyip Erdoğan had not been imprisoned and banned from politics because of the poem he read in 1999, the people would not have been carried away by the AK Party at that time, paving the way for 25 years of power. What was done that day caused this.
'AK PARTY LAYED THE FOUNDATIONS OF AT LEAST 20 YEARS OF SECULAR POWER'
AK Party was going to eliminate corruption, turn it into its source, end poverty, the overwhelming majority are below the poverty line. There would be no bans, 29 mayors are being tried in pre-trial detention. The AK Party has turned into what it fought against 25 years ago. Society definitely reacts to so much injustice, cruelty and evil. Today, the AK Party may not be aware of it, but the recent judicial blockade against the opposition and the great injustices inflicted upon it may have laid the foundations of a secular government for at least 20 years. I believe that, starting from the first general election, Turkey will experience a period in which the secular opposition is in power for at least 20 years.
PORTRAIT
PROF. DR. HASAN SINAR
He graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Law. He worked as a "doctor of law" in the field of criminal law in 2006 and as an associate professor in 2016 titled "Arrest in Criminal Procedure Law".
