A sweeping reshuffle in Turkey’s judiciary and security bureaucracy accelerated following the appointment of Akın Gürlek as justice minister.
Under a presidential decree signed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 20, all four deputy justice ministers were dismissed and replaced. The new appointees include former Istanbul deputy chief prosecutors Can Tuncay and Burak Ceyhan, along with Sedat Ayyıldız and Abdullah Aydoğdu. Three deputy interior ministers were also removed, while Bülent Turan, known to be at odds with the former minister, remained in his position.
The changes extended beyond the ministries. The Council of Judges and Prosecutors appointed Fatih Dönmez as Istanbul chief public prosecutor, filling the vacancy left by Gürlek’s move to the ministry. Mehmet Beşir Güven was named Istanbul Anatolian chief public prosecutor, and Nuri Gül became deputy chief public prosecutor in Ankara.
Dönmez previously served as Istanbul deputy chief public prosecutor overseeing organized crime investigations. During his tenure as Gürlek’s deputy, he supervised high-profile cases, including proceedings involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The decree followed a Feb. 19 meeting between Gürlek, newly appointed Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, and Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex.
In the Interior Ministry, newly appointed deputies include Ali Çelik, Güran Yiğitbaşı and Mehmet Cangir. Since the new appointees largely come from the ranks of governors, the structural shift in the ministry remains limited for now.
