Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek made a statement on his social media account within the scope of illegal betting operations. Minister Gürlek made the following statements in his statement:

Under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; We continue our fight against illegal betting, virtual gambling and crime proceeds with determination, in coordination with our Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this context, our Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes Investigation Bureau, carried out a comprehensive study before the World Cup Final Match. In this context, 6,314 bank accounts used in illegal betting traffic were identified, and a simultaneous memorandum was written to the banks to instantly block these accounts with the start of the final match. In addition, 19 foreign financial houses, which were considered to be working integrated with illegal betting sites, were identified and judicial proceedings were initiated to capture 23 suspects. I would like to thank our Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Istanbul Provincial Police Department, and all public officials who took part in this process, for carrying out the process meticulously. We will never allow illegal betting and virtual gambling that targets the labor of our youth, the peace of our families and the future of our nation.

Suspicious statements in the investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the helicopter crash in which former BBP Chairman Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and 5 people with him lost their lives brought the critical headlines in the file to the agenda again. While most of the suspects denied the accusations; It was noteworthy that the civilian accident investigation committee admitted that it did not write down the loss of the navigation device in the cockpit in the official report and that it prepared the report regarding this outdated. Some of the suspects in the military delegation said that they went to the wreckage “out of curiosity”, one suspect stated that he wanted to “buy a piece for souvenir purposes”, statements that the coordinates were not reached even though the location of the crash was determined within 1.5 kilometers, and the connection of FETO’s fugitive private imam Adil Öksüz were among the most critical elements of the file.

Entry Date: 19.07.2026 13:20

Update Date: 19.07.2026 13:26

Breaking news: MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli made a written statement on the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. Stating that he commemorates those who were martyred in the operation with mercy and gratitude, and the veterans with gratitude and respect, Bahçeli emphasized that July 20, 1974 was a historical turning point in which the Republic of Turkey showed its power to the whole world against those who thought the Turkish nation’s desire for peace was submission.

Bahçeli stated that the plans aiming to remove the Turkish Cypriots from their homeland and connect the Island to Greece were foiled with the Cyprus Peace Operation and said, “On that day, the Turkish soldier imprisoned the centuries-old annexation obsession of the Greek-Greek mentality in the dark pages of history; buried the outdated Enosis dream and expansionist ambitions in the waters of the Mediterranean.”

“CYPRUS IS A TURKISH HOMELAND MADE A HOMELAND BY THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS”

Drawing attention to the strategic and national importance of Cyprus for Türkiye and the Turkish nation, Bahçeli said:

“Cyprus is the security line of Anatolia in the south, the key point of our national rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, a Turkish homeland made homeland by the blood of martyrs, the trust of the past and the continuity of our national existence. Just as the fate of Ankara and Nicosia cannot be separated, the security of the Turkish Cypriots and the public order of the Republic of Turkey, the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the reputation of the Turkish nation in the Mediterranean cannot be separated from each other.”

Emphasizing that the Turkish Cypriots are the original owners of the Island, Bahçeli stated that the Turkish presence took root on the Island with the conquest of Famagusta in 1571. Bahçeli evaluated, “Turkish Cypriots are a sovereign people with the will to determine their own future, an inseparable and indispensable part of the great Turkish nation.”

“TMT KEPT THE LOVE FOR INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM ALIVE IN THE HEARTS”

Stating that the Turkish Cypriots suffered great pain for many years in the face of Greek-Greek attacks, Bahçeli said, “In the years when Hellenist expansionism targeted the life, property, honor and national identity of the Turkish Cypriots, villages were besieged, stoves were tried to be extinguished, civilians, including women and children, were targeted, and the Turkish nation was subjected to genocide on the island.”

Stating that the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) was born under these conditions, Bahçeli continued his statement as follows:

“Emerging from such a situation, the Turkish Resistance Organization has become a national resistance headquarters that creates a common ideal from the dispersed national will, combines the ideal with military discipline, prevents the Turkish nation from being lost in the corridors of despair on the Island, and keeps the love of independence and freedom alive in the hearts through struggle.”

“THE CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION IS A STEEL FIST AT THE HEART OF NICOSIA”

Bahçeli described the Cyprus Peace Operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces as “a steel fist struck by the Republic of Turkey in the heart of Nicosia against the invasive mentality that aims to destroy the Turkish Cypriots, annex the Island, deny the Turkish existence and revive the Greek-Greek domination.”

Pointing out that the operation was carried out in line with Türkiye’s rights and obligations arising from international agreements, Bahçeli said, “The fact that the Cyprus Peace Operation brought peace and stability not only to the Turkish Cypriots but to the entire island is an indisputable fact of the tranquility that has lasted more than half a century, no matter how difficult it may be for the Greek-Greek mentality and their patrons.”

Stating that those who discussed the presence of the Turkish soldier on the Island consciously ignored the attacks and atrocities that took place before the operation, Bahçeli said, “The presence of the Turkish soldier on the Island is the only insurance of the deterrence that prevents new attacks, the security of the Turkish Cypriots and the peace climate in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

“THE WILL TO DETERMINE THE DIRECTION FOR TURKISH CYPRUS IS NOT IN BRUSSELS”

Reacting to the 2025 Türkiye Report accepted by the European Parliament on June 17, 2026, Bahçeli stated that the report revealed Europe’s biased attitude on the Cyprus issue and that it was under the influence of Greek-Greek theses.

Stating that the Turkish Cypriot people are defined in the report as a “legitimate community” of the Island, not as a sovereign people, and that the exhausted federation model is imposed as the only solution option, Bahçeli said:

“The will to determine the direction of the Turkish Cypriot community is not in Brussels! This will is in the position that the Turkish Resistance Organization mujahideen have not abandoned for years, in the island soil watered by the blood of our martyrs, in the determined intervention of the Republic of Turkey in Cyprus, and in the power of the Turkish Cypriots to establish the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”

Bahçeli stated that the evaluations of the European Parliament, which assigns minority status to the Turkish Cypriots, targets Türkiye’s legitimate existence on the island, and is disturbed by the relations developed by the TRNC with the Organization of Turkish States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, are “politically crippled and crippled”.

“FEDERATION DREAMS HAVE BECOME STATED”

Arguing that the federation model aims to make the Turkish Cypriots subject to the Greek administration, Bahçeli said, “The dreams of a federation, which have been put into circulation with different names and packages for years, but essentially aim to make the Turkish Cypriots an element subject to the Greek administration, have become stale.”

Emphasizing that no approach that ignores the acquired rights and sovereign and equal status of the Turkish Cypriots can serve a fair and permanent solution, Bahçeli continued as follows:

“Just as it is unthinkable for the Turkish Cypriots to submit to minority status under Greek administration, the confirmation and registration of their sovereign equality is an undeferred right and historical responsibility. The unconditional, unconditional, non-negotiable acceptance of the existence of two separate states in Cyprus and the registration of the international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the eyes of other states are the only key to permanent peace.”

Bahçeli celebrated the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation and the 20 July Peace and Freedom Day and commemorated the Founding President of the TRNC, Rauf Denktaş, the martyrs and the veterans who lost their lives.

Commemorating the then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who made the decision for the operation, with mercy and gratitude, Bahçeli said, “I express my gratitude to our glorious Turkish Armed Forces, who carried this decision to victory in the field with unique heroism and love of the homeland. Cyprus is Turkish, it is the homeland of the Turks and will remain Turkish forever.”

Akın Gürlek included the following statements in his post on his social media account:

“The investigation into the death of the late Chairman of the Grand Unity Party, Mr. Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, and his accompanying delegation in the helicopter crash that occurred on March 25, 2009, is one of the files that left a deep mark on the conscience of our nation.

Within the scope of the multifaceted investigation carried out by our Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, action was taken against 29 suspects; 27 suspects were detained, 19 of them were arrested, and a judicial control order was issued for 8 of them. The other 2 suspects are detained in prison.

In the file, issues regarding the secret structure of FETO/PDY, organizational contacts, the connection of Adil Öksüz, one of the main actors of the July 15 Coup Attempt, ByLock correspondence and the fact that many suspects have been processed within the scope of FETO in the past are carefully evaluated.

This file is not just about a painful event that happened in the past; It is a file in which the dark traces of FETO, which tries to obscure the truth by infiltrating the capillaries of the state, are investigated. Our judicial authorities continue their work with determination to reach the material truth within the limits set by the law and in the light of evidence.

I would especially like to express this: No matter where the investigation leads, our state will follow it to the end within the law. No doubt will be left unanswered, no organized structure will be allowed to get in the way of our nation’s expectation of justice.

On this occasion, I would like to once again wholeheartedly thank our Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, our Ankara Provincial Police Department, who carried out the investigation meticulously, and all our public officials who took part in the investigation process.

We commemorate all our citizens who lost their lives in this tragic incident, especially the late Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu; “I hereby inform the public that the process will be followed with determination to shed light on all aspects of this pain that is in the hearts of their families and our beloved nation.”

The investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the death of the late Grand Unity Party Chairman Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and his accompanying delegation in the helicopter crash that occurred on March 25, 2009, continues. Making a statement regarding the file, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek emphasized that the investigation was carried out multifacetedly and meticulously.

ACTION WAS TAKEN AGAINST 29 SUSPECTS

Minister Gürlek stated that action has been taken against 29 suspects so far within the scope of the investigation, and announced that 27 of them were detained, 19 were arrested, and judicial control measures were implemented against 8 of them. Gürlek stated that the other two suspects were detained in prison for other files.

FETO CONNECTIONS UNDER SPOTLIGHT

Noting that the connections related to the secret structure of FETO/PDY were examined in detail in the investigation file, Gürlek said that all issues regarding organizational contacts, connections with Adil Öksüz, one of the fugitive defendants of the July 15 coup attempt, ByLock correspondence and the fact that many suspects had been processed within the scope of FETO in the past, were evaluated within the framework of the evidence.

“THE STRUCTURES TRYING TO BLACK THE TRUTH ARE BEING INVESTIGATED”

Stating that the file is not just an investigation of a tragic accident that happened in the past, Gürlek stated that the traces of FETO, which tried to prevent the truth from being revealed by infiltrating the capillaries of the state, were also investigated. He stated that the judicial authorities continue their work with determination to reach the material truth within the limits drawn by the law and in line with the evidence.

“NO DOUBT WILL BE LEFT UNANSWERED”

Giving a message of determination regarding the scope of the investigation, Gürlek said, “No matter where the investigation leads, our state will follow it to the end within the law. No suspicion will be left unanswered, and no organized structure will be allowed to get in the way of our nation’s expectation of justice.” he said.

THANKS TO THE TEAMS WHO CONDUCTED THE INVESTIGATION

In his statement, Minister Gürlek thanked the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ankara Provincial Police Department, and all public officials who took part in the process. At the end of his statement, Gürlek said, “I commemorate all our citizens who lost their lives in this tragic incident, especially the late Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, and I present to the public that the process will be followed with determination in order to shed light on all aspects of this pain in the hearts of their families and our beloved nation.” He included his statements.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi inspected Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality’s Patilik Mutlu Stray Animals Town. Citing that the facility covers an area of ​​180 decares, Çiftçi said, “Currently, 6,500 animals are kept here in their natural habitats and shelters. 12 veterinarians, a total of 85 people, work here.” Stating that he saw that the conditions were very good and animal welfare was ensured, Çiftçi thanked Governor Aktaş and Metropolitan Mayor Tahir Büyükakın for their work.

Ciftci, mentioning that the work on this issue started on March 15 last year, continued as follows: “It first started in the provinces where there are 51 provincial special administrations. Then, in July, it was expanded to our metropolitan cities. The work in 30 metropolitan cities started in July. As of the point we have reached now, 92.35 percent of stray animals in Türkiye are now kept in shelters and natural habitats. We have accelerated the work. Our goal is hopefully this year. “To collect all the animals on the streets and take them to shelters, to ensure their care, adoption and life in their natural habitats.”