Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office summoned CHP's 7th President Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and former CHP Group Deputy Chairman Akif Hamzaçebi to testify as witnesses within the scope of the investigation launched in January last year following a denunciation about the Republican People's Party's 38th Ordinary Congress held on November 4-5, 2023, alleging that ’votes were cast for money on the day of the congress“.
In the statement made by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, “Following the submission of the document, an investigation was initiated by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in January 2024. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Akif Hamzaçebi were called to testify as witnesses due to their statements in the press and social media regarding the incident subject to the investigation. The investigation continues meticulously. It is respectfully announced to the public.”.
Kılıçdaroğlu speaks out to reveal secret investigation
CHP's 7th chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu responded to a question about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's allegations of a “shady congress” during a KRT live broadcast on February 7, saying, “The party should not remain silent on this issue. They should come out and answer Erdoğan.”.
Following this response, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Akif Hamzaçebi, who made the social media post, were summoned as witnesses by the prosecutor's office, and the public became aware of the investigation that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had been conducting secretly for 13 months.
It is learned that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's lawyer Celal Çelik will go to the prosecutor's office and submit a petition on behalf of his client and then make a press statement. Kılıçdaroğlu will not testify in the investigation.
Kılıçdaroğlu said, “I am not the claimant, so why should I go? Have I ever made a statement in this direction? They should ask for the testimony of whoever is the owner of the allegation.” It is learned that he pointed to Erdoğan.