9 people arrested in CHP Congress investigation

23.05.2026 21:00

In the operation conducted within the scope of the investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the 38th Ordinary Congress of the CHP, 9 of the 13 suspects detained were arrested, while 4 were released under judicial control conditions.

Within the scope of the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding allegations of interference affecting delegates' voting will at the 38th Ordinary Congress of the Republican People's Party, 13 individuals were detained in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Sanliurfa, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, and Malatya.

ARREST DEMAND FOR 11 SUSPECTS

13 individuals, including CHP Kilis Provincial Chairman Umut Mehmet Sapan, were referred to the Istanbul Courthouse in Caglayan during midday hours. After completing their statements, prosecutors requested the arrest of 11 suspects and judicial control measures for 2 individuals, including a ban on leaving their residence. The two individuals for whom judicial control was requested were identified as CHP Istanbul provincial administrators Melda Tanisman Tutan and Hayati Kaya.

9 SENTENCED TO PRISON

The Criminal Court of Peace ordered the arrest of 9 out of 11 individuals, including CHP Kilis Provincial Chairman Umut Mehmet Sapan, CHP Istanbul Deputy Provincial Chairman Melda Tanisman Tutan, CHP Malatya Deputy Veli Agbaba's driver Gaffar Cicek, and Atasehir Deputy Mayor Kalander Ozdemir. Gulhan Aydin and Ayca Akpek Senay were released with a travel ban abroad.

STATEMENTS OF THE SUSPECTS

In the statements taken within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau, almost all suspects made defenses along the same lines. The suspects claimed that no money, jobs, tenders, or other benefits were provided in return for voting preferences during the CHP 38th Ordinary Congress process.

However, when the statements reflected in the records are considered together, the picture at the center of the investigation becomes striking. While some individuals admitted to being congress delegates, others stated they made their voting choices with 'free will.' Nevertheless, in the same statements, municipal employment details, municipal tenders, the start of close relatives' jobs, contacts before and after the congress, and political relationships that could influence delegates were separately filed.

GULHAN AYDIN FILE: MY DAUGHTER MAY HAVE MET FOR A JOB

One of the most striking statements in the file belonged to Gulhan Aydin. Aydin recounted that Usak Mayor Ozkan Yalim, who was suspended after his arrest, called her to ask whom she supported in the congress and then inquired whether her children were employed. Aydin said she later saw on her daughter's phone that she had contacted Ozkan Yalim, and when she asked who Yalim was, her daughter asked if he 'could help with finding a job.'

While acknowledging that her daughter may have sent a CV to Ozkan Yalim, Aydin argued this was not done at her direction. She denied Yalim's claim, made under effective remorse, that he would support Ozgur Ozel on the condition that her children were employed in CHP municipalities.

However, during the investigation, Aydin admitted that she was a congress delegate, had contacted Ozkan Yalim, that her children's unemployment was discussed, and that her daughter may have subsequently contacted Yalim for a job. This chain of dialogue was recorded as one of the factors strengthening the allegation of 'voting preference in return for job promises' in the file.

FAMILY EMPLOYMENT IN MUNICIPALITY

Melda Tanisman Tutan's statement brought the political relationship network built through municipal employment to the fore. Tutan admitted that she was the CHP Provincial Deputy Chairman, had previously served as the Cekmekoy District Chairman, her husband works at Cekmekoy Municipality, and her brother started working in the Technical Affairs unit of Besiktas Municipality in December 2024. Tutan argued that her brother's employment had nothing to do with the congress, stating, 'if it were a congress bargain, he wouldn't have waited a year.'

"A DELEGATE'S SON WAS PLACED IN A MUNICIPAL JOB"

Suspect Hayati Kaya denied the allegations, stating that no benefit was offered to him. However, one sentence in his statement became one of the most striking notes in the file. Kaya stated that he heard the son of a person named Aydin, a delegate from Umraniye, was placed in a municipal job. Although Kaya noted he had no direct knowledge of this, this statement was recorded as a hearsay consistent with the main allegation of the investigation.

"AFTER THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS, MUNICIPAL AND IBB COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP DUTIES ARRIVED"

Suspect Metin Kaya stated in his testimony that he had a fellow townsman and distant kinship tie with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and that if he had had the right to vote in the congress, he would have supported Kilicdaroglu. He stated that he was also on Cemal Canpolat's list in the Istanbul Provincial Congress, but remained neutral upon seeing the list. Although Kaya denied the allegation of distributing money to delegates in favor of Ozgur Ozel during the congress process, he stated that he was subsequently appointed to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Umraniye Municipality council membership positions.

"WE RAN INTO OZGUR'S TEAM BY CHANCE IN KAHRAMANMARAS"

Kalender Ozdemir stated that he did not take an active role during the congress period, did not distribute money to delegates, and knew Turgut Koc from his time at Atasehir Municipality. Denying the anonymous witness and Turgut Koc statements, Ozdemir claimed that he was present in front of the party building during Ozgur Ozel's visit to Kahramanmaras but that this was coincidental. Ozdemir's defense was essentially, 'I was there but was not part of the organization.'

VELI AGBABA'S DRIVER ASKED ABOUT "MONEY TRANSPORT" ALLEGATION

Gaffar Cicek, the driver of suspect CHP Malatya Deputy Veli Agbaba, stated that he works for Agbaba and denied allegations of transporting money. Claiming he was not the person mentioned in Gokhan Bocek's statements, Cicek argued that he lives in Malatya, rarely goes to Ankara, and that reviewing his financial profile would show the allegations are false. However, Cicek's statements that he knows Turgut Koc, that Gokhan Cumali served as a driver when Veli Agbaba came to Istanbul, and that he is Koc's employee, were among the details revealing the network of relationships among individuals in the file.

"I DEFENDED CUMALI AT VELI AGBABA'S REQUEST"

Ayca Akpek Senay stated that she was not a congress delegate, but a member of the High Disciplinary Board, and had no knowledge or experience of benefits being provided to delegates. However, she admitted that she undertook Gokhan Cumali's defense during the criminal court hearing, and that Veli Agbaba requested this from her.