Turkish authorities have opened an investigation into alleged threats from opposition leader Özgür Özel against prosecutor Cahit Cihad Sarı, local media reported Thursday.
An ex officio investigation has been launched against the Republican People's Party (CHP) chair for the crimes of “threatening a judicial officer” and “openly insulting a public official due to his duty,” the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul said in a statement.
It said it had also launched an investigation into Özel’s posts on social media targeting Sarı.
Özel is being probed over remarks he made at a press conference in Istanbul’s Silivri district late Wednesday after CHP’s Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was handed a 20-month prison sentence on charges of “insulting a public official” and “making threats” against Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.
The CHP leader called out a nameless prosecutor as he spoke in Silivri, seemingly Sarı, accusing him of “seizing the hard-earned properties” of individuals linked to alleged corruption at the CHP-run Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).
Sarı, who serves in the organized crime bureau of the prosecutor’s office, is in charge of the investigation against the IBB. Over a dozen CHP district mayors, as well as Imamoğlu, have been arrested since last year in connection with graft allegations.
“Insolent man. Who does he think he is threatening? Someday, he will be begging to die for putting people through this,” Özel said in his speech.
This is the third investigation Özel is facing for his public remarks in the past month.
Last week, Turkish authorities launched a probe against Özel for “insulting the president,” “public incitement to crime,” and “insulting and threatening public officials because of their duties” after he called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a “coward” at a CHP meeting following the arrest of two CHP mayors on charges of corruption.
Separately, he is being probed for statements regarding the operation against the CHP-run municipality of an Antalya district whose deputy mayor was caught red-handed while accepting bribes in a police sting.
Özel had claimed the sting operation was “fabricated to steal Manavgat.”
Last month, authorities said Özel was under investigation for similarly targeting Gürlek.
CHP officials, chiefly Özel and Imamoğlu, have regularly targeted judicial officials for acting as a “guillotine” for Erdoğan following investigations into CHP municipalities.
The government has dismissed accusations of political interference in the cases, stating that the judiciary is independent.
