The detention of notorious media-savvy lawyer Rezan Epözdemir has exposed faultlines between the Presidency and sidelined AKP members over how the party relates to the judiciary.
The sudden detention of Epözdemir on suspicion of facilitating bribery, aiding the Gülenist organization, and political and military espionage dating back to 2021 sparked turmoil in the AKP.
During the four days the lawyer was in detention, a fierce battle broke out on social media between AKP figures.
Former AKP MP Şamil Tayyar said that Epözdemir's detention was extended because he refused to share his phone passcode, and that intense pressure was being exerted on Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek to release Epözdemir.
Tayyar said that Gürlek was worried about the start of a smear campaign against him and was overcome by the extreme pressure exerted on him. The prosecutor had never experienced such a campaign of influence, not even in the İmamoğlu case, Tayyar said.
Tayyar urged President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to back the chief prosecutor, and named presidential advisor Mehmet Uçum as one of those applying pressure. As a former journalist, Tayyar worked to expose bribery of the judiciary by Gülenists.
Former AKP MP Metin Külünk supported Tayyar. Külünk said that he could not understand the panic the case had sparked among some in Ankara.
The response from Uçum's side came through journalist Mehmet Çek. Çek referred to Tayyar as an “operational apparatus,” while Uçum's lawyer stated that the allegations were baseless and that legal action would be taken.
Meanwhile, Tayyar said in another statement that if a lawsuit is filed, the matter will be resolved in court.
“My final comment is to the clown who always jumps in when there is a discussion on this subject: Don't you have any honor? The matter is closed to me,” he said.
Sinan Burhan, a journalist close to the government, categorically denied allegations of pressure on Gürlek. Tayyar called this statement a blatant lie.
Epözdemir acted on behalf of the victims' families in some prominent murder cases, including the killings of Münevver Karabulut, Pınar Gültekin, and Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi.
The arrest was a complete setup, according to a statement posted on Epözdemir's X account, which also suggested that he was being framed by another lawyer who had tried to set up Epözdemir before.
Epözdemir later revealed that the person who had filed the complaint against him was Zihni Çakır, who testified as a secret witness in many prosecutions of Gülenists.
CHANGING ATTORNEYS
While Epözdemir’s case indicates a split in the ruling party, it was also revealed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son Bilal Erdoğan have dismissed Mustafa Doğan İnal, who had represented them in legal matters for decades. The decision, reported by Sözcü newspaper, was made by the Erdoğan family and ends İnal’s partnership with attorney Ahmet Özel in handling the family’s cases.
İnal has been accused of using bribery to secure the release of people charged with membership of the Gülenist organization.
Following the split, Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Baykar chair Selçuk Bayraktar, along with his family and related companies, also terminated their relationship with attorney Abdullah Demirhan, notifying him via a notarized statement that he was removed from all powers of attorney.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel referred to the case as the AKP's internal reckoning, in remarks made during a rally in Istanbul and in comments outside Silivri Prison on Aug. 13.
Today, it is impossible to discern between good and evil, Özel said, echoing Erdoğan's own remarks at the height of the legal crackdown on the Gülen Movement in 2016.
Erdoğan has filed a 1 million lira compensation lawsuit against Özel over his remarks and a separate criminal complaint for “insulting the president” was submitted to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
NEW DETENTIONS
As prosecutors deepened their investigation, the clerk of former Public Prosecutor Cengiz Çallı, who is alleged to have links to Epözdemir, and many other individuals were taken into custody. Çallı was earlier expelled from the prosecutor's office for smuggling cigarette filters.
Pro-government media outlets reported, without citing any source, that Epözdemir had opened and was actively using accounts in numerous people's names at different banks.
Epözdemir was also questioned regarding a photo taken at the Suada island pool resort in the Bosphorus in relation to a $150,000 bribery accusation, Sabah said.
Epözdemir earlier responded to allegations regarding the photograph taken at a dinner with a group of individuals, including former Israeli diplomat Dan Arbell, former U.S. Department of Defense official Michael Rubin, former CHP representative to the U.S. Yurter Özcan, and Heather Fiona Hurlburt from the British Royal Institute of International Affairs.
He said that if an arrest warrant had been issued against him, everyone who participated in the aforementioned meetings should also be arrested and investigated.
Epözdemir was taken into custody as part of two separate investigations conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and was arrested on charges of acting as an intermediary in bribery.
He said that he had been Çallı's representative since 2020 but had not been involved in any of the cases under investigation.
