Celal Çelik, the official lawyer of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, was detained in Ankara as a part of an investigation into the Gülen network.
Çelik was taken into custody in Ankara early Sept. 15 after the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against him over links to the Gülen network, widely believed to have orchestrated last year’s coup attempt.
A former investigation judge of the Supreme Court, Çelik had resigned from his post in 2011 in protest against the reorganization of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) following a constitutional amendment that took place in 2010.
On the CHP’s official website, the reason behind Çelik’s resignation was said to be “a protest against the political power and the judiciary politicized by the HSYK, which was changed after the referendum on Sept. 12, 2010.”
Following his resignation, Çelik became the official lawyer of the CHP and Kılıçdaroğlu.
He is also a CHP high disciplinary board member.