Former TBMM Speaker Bülent Arınç said in a statement regarding the investigation into the religious community publicly known as the “Süleymancılar” that he trusted the statements by the Justice Minister and the Interior Minister that the investigation targeted alleged crimes committed by individuals, not a religious community. However, he argued that there had been practices during the investigation that violated the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Emphasizing that the confidentiality of the investigation and the presumption of innocence must be respected, Arınç said that people had been subjected to trial by media on social media and in some media outlets. Calling it “extremely wrong” to seek evidence based on the accusations, Arınç said that religious communities and orders were sociological structures.
Arınç said that he was not a member of the religious community, but that he had longstanding friendly relations with members of the group and that he had met with Ahmet Arif Denizolgun three or four times during the 2011 elections, with the knowledge of the AK Parti chairman. He said that the relevant individuals should be prosecuted if unlawful acts were identified.
Why it matters
The statement shows that the framework drawn by political authorities regarding the scope of the investigation and legal objections concerning the way it is being conducted are both on the agenda at the same time. This distinction brings to the fore not only the question of whether the investigation is targeting an entire community, but also how individual responsibility will be established, based on which evidence and through which procedures. The emphasis on confidentiality and the presumption of innocence points to concerns that accusatory publications on social media and in the press could affect the judicial process. Arınç’s explanation of his past contacts appears aimed at clarifying his personal position in response to possible claims of links in the public sphere; nevertheless, the concrete acts and evidence on which the investigation is proceeding remain the central unresolved issue after the statement.