If İmamoğlu is arrested!...

I prepared the draft of this article almost a month ago, on February 22. Its title was “Old and New Turkey.”

The reason for that article was Erdoğan’s frequent comparisons of “old and new Turkey,” but more importantly, a prophecy (!) made by a pro-government writer regarding Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu:

“Until the presidential election, who knows who will live and who will die... Where will you be, in prison, or among those who fled abroad? Will you be in the CHP, or in the new party you will establish? Will you latch onto the Good Party, or will you try to revive your old party, the Motherland Party, by saying ‘this is my last chance’?”

It was crystal clear that the path for the first prophecy (!) regarding İmamoğlu was being paved.

I began to wonder, “How will he be detained? Will he be summoned to testify, or will his house be raided? If he is arrested, what will happen, and under what conditions will he stay in prison?”

Along with this, I compiled notes on how Erdoğan was treated when he was the Mayor of Istanbul in “old Turkey,” where he was subjected to consecutive investigations just like Ekrem İmamoğlu, and eventually ended up in prison.

Although numerous investigations were opened against him, primarily for corruption, he was not detained for a single day...

When his 10-month prison sentence for a speech he gave in Siirt was finalized and his mayorship was revoked by the Council of State, he was not arrested immediately either.

First, he determined who would act as his deputy at the Municipality...

Then, he had the execution of his sentence postponed twice to participate in his party’s election campaigns...

Finally, when he decided to surrender, he chose Pınarhisar prison. He had the ward where he would stay furnished and decorated by his men who had entered the prison before him...

A SHOW OF FORCE

Today, while Ekrem İmamoğlu is being detained by a house raid and a de facto state of emergency has been declared in Istanbul for four days, let us recall how Erdoğan went to Pınarhisar prison to serve his 4-month and 10-day sentence.

The first farewell took place in front of his house in Üsküdar. His neighbors and party members gathered in front of Erdoğan’s house and chanted slogans...

Erdoğan, who came out of his house, stated in his speech that he was not saying goodbye, saying, “As I have always said, hopefully, this is a rest, a pause in the compositions of an unending song. Right now, we will continue our work there, which is a continuation of many projects we have worked on until today. I believe that the notes after the rest will continue, integrating with your love, your passion, and your devotion, on the path leading to the Turkey of bright tomorrows, peace, love, and brotherhood, in the same stability.”

Following this speech, amidst applause and chants of “Turkey is proud of you,” he went to Eyüp Sultan with a convoy and prayed. From there, he visited his private doctor with his wife. Later, accompanied by many party colleagues such as Numan Kurtulmuş, Ali Müfit Gürtuna, Mehmet Ali Şahin, and Abdülkadir Aksu, he went to Fatih Mosque and attended a friend’s funeral prayer...

During the funeral prayer, where the police took extensive security measures, slogans such as “Prime Minister Erdoğan,” “No to the junta,” “Freedom for Tayyip,” “Mujahid Erdoğan,” “Prophet Yusuf was also in the dungeon, he became the king of Egypt” were chanted, and the takbir was recited. The part of the poem that caused Erdoğan’s prison sentence, “Mosques are our barracks, minarets are our bayonets,” was also chanted as a slogan.

After the prayer, flowers were thrown at Erdoğan as he walked through the cordon formed to the bus that would take him to prison. Erdoğan sat on the upper deck of the double-decker bus with his wife Emine Erdoğan and Ali Müfit Gürtuna. Citizens hung cloth banners reading “This song does not end here” on the overpasses along the route Erdoğan’s convoy would pass...

While Erdoğan took off his jacket and waved to those who saw him off, those who supported him walked alongside the bus from Fatih to Topkapı. The police only cut off the crowd’s path at the highway junction. Kebabs were brought to Erdoğan, who could not find the opportunity to eat lunch due to the farewells, at the exit of the Istanbul toll booths...

A large number of vehicles accompanied Erdoğan, who was able to set off for Pınarhisar from the Istanbul toll booths hours later, along the way. While three vans were prepared for the many journalists who would watch Erdoğan’s entry into prison, the poem titled “Don’t Mind, Chief” was played on Erdoğan’s bus throughout the journey, and announcements were made saying, “This song does not end like this, Erdoğan,” and “Our return will be as magnificent as our departure...”

Now let us ask:

If a decision is made to arrest Ekrem İmamoğlu, would he be allowed to do even one of these?

Impossible!..

Because now in Turkey, the mechanism of arresting first, taking to prison in a rush and under heavy security, waiting in jail for months without knowing what one is accused of, and then conducting the trial after the indictment is prepared, is in operation.

HE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL BALANCES

Let us finish with the speech Erdoğan made upon returning home with a convoy after completing his 4-month sentence. He said;

“I have, thank God, completed the situation of entering prison, which is one of the requirements of being a politician in Turkey... I filled my conviction process by striving to research solutions that would remedy the problems of the country and the nation, with the effort to fulfill the responsibility that fell upon me. Today, it has been understood once again that Turkey’s real agenda depends on eliminating injustice in income distribution, ensuring social consensus for development, and showing Turkey’s power in foreign policy within the logic of a democratic state of law. In our country, not only political balances but all socio-economic balances have been destroyed. The greatest goal of those who profit from this is to prevent these balances from being re-established. It is impossible to solve any of our country’s problems without re-establishing these balances.”

These are some frames from “old Turkey”...

And these are the things happening in the “new Turkey” 26 years later...

Our democracy and our law have jumped another “age,” haven’t they?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

March 19, 2025