From Prison to Kılıçdaroğlu: Ekrem İmamoğlu's 'Palace Trustee' Outburst

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently imprisoned as part of the İBB conspiracy case, targeted former Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu with very harsh language in a statement released from prison. Sharing the claims of "strip searches, torture, and blackmail" that Fatoş Pınar Türker, General Manager of the İBB subsidiary Medya AŞ, alleged she was subjected to while in custody, İmamoğlu used the term "Palace Trustee" for Kılıçdaroğlu and called on him to "read these grave statements immediately!"

During the latest hearing of the İBB case, the human rights violations and the "strip search" scandal that Medya AŞ General Manager Fatoş Pınar Türker claimed to have experienced during her detention and interrogation process caused a major stir in the courtroom. Imprisoned İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu issued a message via his Presidential Candidate Office account on the social media platform X, directing sharp criticism at both the judicial system and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who is attempting to return to the CHP Headquarters.

"EVERYONE IN THE COURTROOM WAS HORRIFIED"

Stating that the testimonies recorded in the hearing minutes are a document of shame for legal history, Ekrem İmamoğlu argued that the power behind the conspiracy is the ruling government and shared the following message:

"Yesterday was a shameful day for the justice and legal system. Medya AŞ General Manager Fatoş Pınar Türker recounted the blackmail, torture, and harassment she was subjected to in court. Everyone in the courtroom was horrified. I want to share these accounts with our nation as well. You will read with dismay the methods used by the mentality in the palace, the architect of the İBB conspiracy case and the March 19 coup."

HEAVY ACCUSATION AGAINST KILIÇDAROĞLU: "PALACE TRUSTEE"

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who is preparing to return to the CHP chairmanship by court order and has announced that he will initiate a "purification" process within the party, was the target of İmamoğlu's criticism. Implying that Kılıçdaroğlu is playing into the hands of the government and is part of the operation conducted through the judiciary, İmamoğlu used the following scathing remarks:

"The 'palace trustee' who chases after this mentality that has destroyed the judiciary, who never lets the word 'purification' fall from his lips, and who hangs banners, should also read these grave statements immediately!"

TIES COMPLETELY SEVERED IN CHP CORRIDORS

According to information obtained from Ankara political circles, İmamoğlu's use of the term "Palace Trustee" for Kılıçdaroğlu so clearly for the first time indicates that the bridges between the Özel-İmamoğlu camp within the CHP and Kılıçdaroğlu supporters have been destroyed beyond repair.

This outburst from prison, coming immediately after the declaration by 72 provincial chairs in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey that "Özgür Özel is our chairman and Ekrem İmamoğlu is our presidential candidate," has escalated the leadership and legitimacy war within the CHP to the highest level. It is now awaited with curiosity how the Kılıçdaroğlu wing will respond from the party headquarters to these severe accusations of being a "trustee" and "chasing after the palace mentality" made by İmamoğlu.

News Source: 12punto