Tense hearing in Silivri: Özgür Özel's warning: 'You never know who will be judging whom tomorrow'

Chaos erupted before the first hearing of the trial involving 402 defendants related to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) even began.

Following an argument between the presiding judge and Ekrem İmamoğlu, a decision was made to clear the courtroom. As the judicial panel left the room, İmamoğlu called out, "You did not come here to conduct a trial; you cannot leave by running away."

Following the tension, a formal report was filed regarding İmamoğlu.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who was following the hearing, made statements regarding what transpired in the courtroom. Özel said, "It is the panic of someone guilty, carrying out orders received, and trying to discredit Mayor Ekrem by speaking to him in a condescending, informal manner. Neither the lawyers nor the families will allow this! There is a judge here trying to provoke the courtroom."

"The hearing began today. Such an important hearing...

In a situation where there should normally be a trial without detention, people who have been held inside for a year and their lawyers are requesting the floor, but the judge is not giving them the floor. Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu is requesting the floor, and he is not giving it to him. He is seeking a 2,430-year sentence, yet he turns to Ekrem İmamoğlu and addresses him as 'Defendant Ekrem.' When the courtroom reacts to this, he then turns and starts saying, 'Mr. Ekrem, you.' At first, he used informal language dozens of times, supposedly in an attempt to discredit him."

Then, a lawyer managed to make his voice heard with great difficulty and said, 'There is a list you provided right now; we have been asking your clerk about this order for weeks, answer this. Yeni Şafak published this yesterday,' he said. 'How are you leaking to a pro-government newspaper what is not given to the lawyers?' he asked. After this, the judge's composure broke, and he said, 'Clear the courtroom.'

He was caught red-handed in a situation where the government's judges were leaking news to the government's newspaper upon orders and instructions. He lost psychological control of the courtroom. And it seems it was something he had in mind from the beginning; he said, 'Clear the courtroom.' As members of parliament and families, we are not clearing the courtroom. We will not leave. Since the last words out of his mouth were 'Clear the courtroom,' if we leave here, the families will too, and that would not be the right thing to do.

Aside from this, if he had taken a break according to procedure, everyone would have left; the press is waiting outside, and the families are waiting. It is the panic of someone guilty, implementing the instructions they received, and trying to discredit Mayor Ekrem by speaking to him in a familiar, condescending manner. Neither the lawyers nor the families will allow this! There is a judge trying to stir up the courtroom, and families trying to maintain their composure.

It is not enough that they put someone whom 15.5 million people have shown as a presidential candidate behind bars, or that they declared to the world that they are afraid of a free election in Turkey by canceling a 35-year-old diploma; the entire courtroom can see that they cannot even conduct a trial and that the judge himself is provoking the proceedings. Why should this courtroom be emptied? People have been waiting for this day for a year."

News Source: 12punto