Sharp reactions follow the IMM indictment: Here are the statements from CHP figures

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated, "This is not an indictment, it is a memorandum," while Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) Mayor Mansur Yavaş demanded that the hearings be broadcast live on television.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made a statement on his social media account regarding the IMM indictment prepared as a result of the investigation completed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Özel noted the following in his statement:

"As is known, a civil coup took place in our country on March 19. This time, the coup plotters did not come with tanks or boots, but with judicial robes. A handful of people who came to power through elections but do not want to leave through elections have dragged Turkey into the darkness of a major political and economic crisis by imprisoning the rivals they fear. In the 237 days that have passed, we have witnessed every hour of a great injustice together with our noble nation. The indictment released today has once again declared the truth that everyone already knows. This case is not legal; it is entirely political. Its purpose is to stop the Republican People's Party, the leading party of the last elections, and to block its presidential candidate.

The coup plotters have lost their senses to the point of demanding the closure of the Republican People's Party, Turkey's founding party, whose title deed is registered to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The fact that a notification was sent to the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office by citing the articles of the Constitution regarding the closure of political parties is proof that this issue is not an investigation into the IMM. What is happening today is a flagrant act of intervention by the judiciary into democratic politics and the results of future elections.

This is not an indictment; it is a memorandum by coup plotters against politics. The cause of the evils we are experiencing is never 'legal'; it consists solely of one person's political ambitions. Kenan Evren last tried to close our party on September 12, and we reopened it together with our nation. Evren's place in our nation's heart and the way he went down in our political history are clear. We have paid a heavy price in the past, we are paying it today, and we will continue to pay it. But we will never stop believing in and trusting our nation. Atatürk's party is entrusted to our nation."

MANSUR YAVAŞ: "LET THE HEARINGS BE BROADCAST LIVE"

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş stated, "Personally, I have seen many case files, but this is the first time I have encountered an indictment where certain municipal activities are considered criminal elements. I think the public should give the most direct answer and the hearings should be broadcast live. The duty of the law is not to be a tool for political competition, but to ensure justice. We believe that sooner or later the truth will emerge and justice will be served. We sincerely believe that our friends will return to their duties with their heads held high after a fair trial process."

RESUL EMRAH ŞAHAN: SOONER OR LATER OUR INNOCENCE WILL BE REGISTERED BEFORE FAIR AND IMPARTIAL COURTS

The name of the imprisoned Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan is also mentioned in the indictment. He shared a post on his social media account through his lawyers regarding the indictment. Şahan stated that their innocence would be registered sooner or later.

Şahan's post is as follows:

"I have been unjustly imprisoned in a single-person cell in Silivri for 8 months. This process, which began on March 19, was further aggravated by my second arrest on September 12 without any concrete justification. Today, I have been added to a thousands-page indictment as a 'specially qualified member' without any reasonable explanation. Now, I have to read this indictment prepared against us within four walls. With my lawyer, whom I can meet with under limited conditions, we will try to provide the defense for what has turned into one of the heaviest political cases in this country, or rather, to ensure that 'the truth is told' against perceptions. Unfortunately, the arrest, which was presented as a 'precaution' at the beginning, has long since turned into a de facto 'punishment.' Here, along with our freedom, our right to defend ourselves has also been taken away from us. Justice has been lacking in this country for a long time; but we have not lost our hope. Sooner or later, our innocence will be registered before fair and impartial courts. I believe that the truth will find its way through our struggle for justice."

ALİ MAHİR BAŞARIR: "THEY HAVE MADE A DIAGRAM"

Evaluating the indictment, CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır said:

“Unfortunately, this is an indictment of this government because if Yeni Şafak announces this indictment days in advance, if journalist Fatih Atik announces it, giving its page and date, then this indictment is null and void. What kind of confidentiality is this? They have made a diagram, they have put pictures. We saw this diagram disgrace in the Ergenekon Case. I would like to remind you where those who committed this disgrace that day are now. Unfortunately, there are accusations and sections in this indictment that exceed their limits and purpose."

MAHMUT TANAL: "THOSE WHO VIOLATE THE LAW CANNOT CRUSH THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE"

CHP Şanlıurfa Deputy Mahmut Tanal included the following statements on his social media account:

"The indictment prepared against Ekrem İmamoğlu is a work of politics, not law. Serving it with headlines of '4,000-page accusation' before it was even presented to the court has destroyed the confidentiality of the investigation, the presumption of innocence, and the impartiality of the judiciary. This picture is an attempt at judicial engineering shaped by the hand of politics, not justice. The purpose of the law is to protect justice, not the government. Targeting one person to prepare the ground for the closure of the CHP is a betrayal of Articles 68 and 69 of the Constitution and the essence of the democratic order. Those who want to eliminate through the judiciary what they could not defeat at the ballot box are using the law as a tool and sacrificing democracy. A political chain cannot be placed on the door of justice. Those who violate the law cannot crush the will of the people."

ÖZGÜR ÇELİK: "RIGHT, THE PEOPLE, AND THE TRUTH WILL WIN"

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik made the following statement:

"Bad faith has been revealed from the introduction of the indictment. It has been clearly revealed in the beginning part of the indictment that Ekrem İmamoğlu's presidential candidacy is being targeted. The term 'octopus' used in the AKP Group Meeting has been used exactly as it is in the indictment. The introductory part, where the issue is summarized, shows that it is a nonsense legally, a document of helplessness politically, and a cautionary tale that will be remembered with shame historically. Right, the people, and the truth will win."

MURAT EMİR: "YOU WILL NEVER SUCCEED"

CHP Group Deputy Chairman Murat Emir made the following statement on his social media account regarding the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the IMM:

"No coup plotter has succeeded in erasing the CHP, the founding party of the Republic, from the political scene. The desire of those who cannot win at the ballot box and those who have declared war on the Republic to have a closure case opened against the CHP by hiding behind the prosecutor's bench today is a confession of cowardice and coup-plotting. Touching the CHP, founded by Atatürk, is beyond your stature and your limits. Your masters could not silence the votes, hope, and organized struggle of millions of citizens of this country, and you will never succeed. Do not play with fire."

News Source: 12punto