From local judgeship to the Ministry, a “success” story: a portrait of the new Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek

Appointment decisions bearing the signature of AKP Chair and President Tayyip Erdoğan were published in the Official Gazette.

Akın Gürlek, who came to the fore with the rulings he delivered while serving as a judge at the Istanbul Courthouse and who, while continuing in that post, was first appointed Deputy Minister of Justice and then Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, has become Minister of Justice.

Recently, assessments were being made in Ankara political circles that Akın Gürlek was seeking the post of Minister of Justice and had conveyed this expectation to Erdoğan.

Criticised by CHP Chair Özgür Özel over the claim that he once received two salaries, Gürlek also prompted broad public attention with the investigations he conducted as Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor.

Investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities, chiefly the case file in which Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested, as well as the files concerning manager Ayşe Barım and Zafer Party Chair Ümit Özdağ were among the prominent processes during Gürlek’s term. Meanwhile, political backroom information reflecting public reporting also suggested that he had recently been uncomfortable with certain practices by Istanbul Police and the Ministry of the Interior.

APPOINTED AS ISTANBUL CHIEF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR IN 2024

Born in Nevşehir in 1982, Gürlek graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Law in 2005. After serving in different provinces and districts, he was appointed to Istanbul and served in turn as a member of the Istanbul 37th High Criminal Court and President of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court.

In 2022, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice. During this period, he was responsible for the Council of Judges and Prosecutors. Gürlek was appointed Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor on 2 October 2024.

Because of the investigations he conducted during his time as chief prosecutor, Gürlek was frequently criticised and President Erdoğan supported him without naming him, saying, “No one can wag a finger at our judiciary.” The MHP is also known to support Gürlek.

HE NEVER LEFT THE AGENDA

Gürlek frequently came to the public’s attention with the rulings he delivered while serving in Istanbul. In 2018, after the panel of judges that ruled for the release of lawyers who were members of the Contemporary Lawyers Association was removed from duty, a new panel including Akın Gürlek was appointed in its place. The new panel overturned the release decisions and at the end of the trial ruled that the lawyers should be sentenced.

• Gürlek was also on the panel that blocked the release of former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş and signed the prison sentence in the case opened on charges of propaganda.

• Gürlek later took up the post of President of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court. During this period, the court sentenced the then CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu to prison because of her social media posts.

• The same court panel also signed the conviction ruling in the case opened against Sözcü newspaper writers and executives on the accusation of “knowingly and willingly assisting FETÖ”.

ÖZER AND İMAMOĞLU INVESTIGATIONS

After Gürlek was appointed Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor in October 2024, an investigation was launched into the then Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer. Özer was arrested on 30 October 2024 on the allegation of “membership of an organisation” and a trustee was appointed to the municipality.

CHP leader Özgür Özel criticised Gürlek after this incident.

ÖZEL ORDERED TO PAY COMPENSATION

Gürlek filed a non-pecuniary damages lawsuit against Özel, who continued his criticisms. Özel was ordered to pay compensation in this case.

BEŞİKTAŞ OPERATION

As part of a corruption investigation opened by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on 17 January, 23 people including Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat were arrested.

INVESTIGATION INTO THREATS AGAINST İMAMOĞLU

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu made remarks in a speech directed at Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.

Following these remarks, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that an investigation had been launched into İmamoğlu on the allegation that his words contained threats against Gürlek and his family.

ARREST OF ÖZDAĞ

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also opened an investigation into Zafer Party Chair Ümit Özdağ on the allegation that he insulted the President in a speech he gave in Antalya. Detained in Ankara as part of this investigation, Özdağ was arrested in Istanbul on 21 January 2025.

The file also brought discussions about the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s jurisdiction and in some circles criticism was voiced that it was “acting like the chief prosecutor’s office of Turkey”.

ARREST OF AYŞE BARIM

The investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into manager Ayşe Barım also drew broad public attention. Barım was arrested on 27 January 2025 on the allegation that she organised the Gezi Resistance and directed some artists towards protests. The case against Barım, who was released months later, is ongoing.

OPERATION AGAINST İMAMOĞLU

The investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also remained on the agenda for a long time. An investigation was first opened into İmamoğlu on the allegation of a “fake diploma” and in the linked process it was announced that his diploma had been annulled.

On 19 March, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that detention orders had been issued for more than 100 people including Ekrem İmamoğlu on various accusations. İmamoğlu, who was detained, was arrested on accusations of “forming a criminal organisation, fraud and bribery”. A separate investigation was also launched into İmamoğlu on terrorism accusations.

In connection with this process, a series of operations were carried out against municipalities. In the operations, Bayrampaşa Mayor Hasan Mutlu, Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney, Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, Büyükçekmece Mayor Hasan Akgün, Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe, Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, Şile Mayor Özgür Kabadayı and Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer were arrested.

It was later announced that Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar and Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin were also arrested within the scope of the same investigation.

MABEL MATİZ, LEMAN AND MANIFEST INVESTIGATIONS

In addition to these operations, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also came to the fore with investigations launched into the artist Mabel Matiz, the Manifest music group and the magazine LeMan. While these files brought discussions about judicial processes directed at freedom of expression and artistic activity, they also caused reactions from different segments.

ÖZEL’S ALLEGATIONS

CHP Chair Özgür Özel continued his criticisms of Akın Gürlek during this process. Özel claimed that a villa with a view of the Istanbul Bosphorus was allocated to Gürlek and that around 40 million lira was spent on renovating the villa.

Özel also alleged that after Gürlek was appointed Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, he both received a prosecutor’s salary and continued to receive a salary from his role as a board member at Eti Maden’s company in Luxembourg.

Because of these statements, a criminal complaint was filed against Özel and an investigation was launched.

NOTIFICATION TO THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR AT THE COURT OF CASSATION ABOUT CHP

After completing the İBB indictment, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also made a “closure notification” to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation regarding CHP. In a statement made by the chief prosecutor’s office on 11 November, it was recorded that a notification was made to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation regarding the Republican People’s Party and it said: “In light of the determinations made within the scope of our investigation file, it is understood that the Republican People’s Party has intervened, in a systematic and continuous manner, in a way that affects the reliability of elections held nationwide and locally and the will of voters and that affects the democratic order. Accordingly, pursuant to Articles 68 and 69 of the Constitution and Article 101 and subsequent articles of Political Parties Law No. 2820, a notification has been made by our Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation for the assessment and execution of what is required.”

DRUG INVESTIGATIONS TARGETING CELEBRITIES

Among the investigations conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office are recent drug investigations targeting celebrities that have drawn broad public attention. These files, in which social media influencers, musicians and some names from the entertainment world were detained or summoned to give statements, brought discussions about the scope and method of the investigations. In operations carried out in coordination with police units, raids were conducted at many addresses, some suspects were arrested and others were released under judicial control conditions.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Yerel hakimlikten Bakanlığa bir ‘başarı’ öyküsü: Yeni Adalet Bakanı Akın Gürlek’in portresi, published in BirGün newspaper on February 11, 2026.