Serdar Sertçelik, a secret witness in the trial of an organized crime boss who accused police chiefs conducting the investigation of conspiring against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, was detained in Hungary and will be held in custody until at least July 6, according to a journalist citing an official document.
Sertçelik is accused of being involved in the network of crime boss Ayhan Bora Kaplan, who allegedly had ties to former interior minister and current AKP lawmaker Süleyman Soylu. He had previously fled abroad despite being under electronic surveillance.
Sertçelik was detained in Budapest under an INTERPOL Red Notice, journalist Müyesser Yıldız tweeted on Thursday with the relevant page of the official document. It was not clear which authority issued the document from Yıldız’s tweet.
Sertçelik had claimed that he was pressured to implicate key political figures, including close associates of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in criminal activities.
Among the names Sertçelik was allegedly forced to mention were Hasan Doğan, the president’s chief private secretary; former justice ministers Bekir Bozdağ and Abdülhamit Gül; former interior minister Süleyman Soylu; AKP lawmaker Mücahit Aslan; Health Minister Fahrettin Koca; Halkbank CEO Osman Arslan; and Sadık Soylu, minister Soylu’s brother.
The allegations have sparked an investigation, leading to multiple arrests within Turkey’s law enforcement. Two weeks prior, an Ankara court ordered the arrest of seven people, including high-ranking police officials, as part of this inquiry.
The investigation, led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, has revealed potential misconduct by law enforcement officers allegedly trying to shield Kaplan’s criminal network. Kaplan himself was arrested last September while attempting to flee the country.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said at the time that the investigation would proceed with full transparency. The inquiry aims to uncover any unlawful actions taken by the law enforcement officers, Yerlikaya said, adding that the officers’ homes were searched and digital evidence was seized.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan replaced Soylu with Yerlikaya in the new cabinet he announced in June following his victory in the presidential election in May.
The Kaplan investigation has revealed deep fractures within Turkey’s law enforcement and political establishments, highlighting ongoing power struggles between the AKP and its far-right ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Kaplan, arrested in September while attempting to flee Turkey, is accused of running a criminal organization involved in “intentional injury,” “armed robbery,” “deprivation of liberty” and “torture.”
There were allegations linking Kaplan’s network to Soylu, suggesting that Kaplan received protection from law enforcement in exchange for financial favors. Soylu, who received explicit support from MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, has denied the allegations.