Former Ankara Mayor Gökçek Gives Statement: “I Have No Fear of Justice”

İbrahim Melih Gökçek left Ankara Courthouse after about two hours of questioning with a message of confidence: “I have no fear of justice.” The former Ankara Metropolitan Municipality mayor had given a statement in an investigation into allegations that money was transferred unofficially to companies abroad.

Speaking to reporters, Gökçek said prosecutors would complete their research and investigation before the outcome became clear. He said he expected to discuss the matter extensively on television once a decision was issued, adding that he was not someone who avoided speaking or felt intimidated.

Gökçek said this was not the first investigation he had faced. He claimed that during the nine years after he was first elected in 1994, when he served in opposition, he went through around 500 investigations and inquiries, all of which ended with decisions not to prosecute. He also cited about 100 investigations during the periods of AK Party and Welfare Party governments, saying those records were held by the Interior Ministry and prosecutors’ offices and had produced no adverse finding.

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By God's permission, I have no personal fear of justice. Why am I not afraid? I am a person who tells the truth.

He rejected statements that nearly 100 investigations had been opened against him during Mansur Yavaş’s tenure. Gökçek said he had faced 25 inquiries and investigations during that period, 21 of which had concluded, while four outcomes had not yet reached him. He alleged that Yavaş had challenged every completed case, but said the 21 files had ultimately been upheld in his favor by higher courts or the Council of State.

Gökçek said he was waiting for the current decision and remained confident because, in his words, he was a person who told the truth.

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I am not a man who does not speak, and I am not a man who is afraid.