Ekrem İmamoğlu pens article ahead of March 9: 'The loser will be Turkey'

Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently imprisoned, penned an article for Gazete Pencere just days before his trial scheduled for March 9. In his article, İmamoğlu described the judicial process against him as "one of the most challenging democracy tests in Turkey's history" and defined the events as an attempt to eliminate the will of the people through legal means.

"Turkey is facing one of the most difficult democracy tests in its history. The final act of a pre-written script of madness, an attempt to eliminate the people's will through legal means, opens on Monday. The imprisonment of myself and my colleagues, our separation from our families, the threatening of mothers with their children, and various forms of torture carried out with political ambition have long since passed into the pages of history as a document of shame. Beneath this shame lie the signatures of today's government, which is concerned about its seat, and the so-called legal professionals used to alleviate this concern."

POINT-BY-POINT ALLEGATIONS OF 'MAFIA METHODS'

Stating, "Let's look at this from the outside," İmamoğlu listed the events point by point:

"1. The government detained, arrested, and imprisoned a person whom the public elected as IMM Mayor twice, simply because he poses a risk to them in the future.

2. It did this through a politician disguised as a chief prosecutor.

3. It used the law for its political goals in a way never before seen in the history of the Republic of Turkey, openly and right in everyone's face.

4. The chief prosecutor, coming from a political position like a deputy ministry, cast the law aside and terrorized my colleagues at the IMM, business people, civil society organizations, artists, and the business world using mafia methods.

5. He pressured some to speak and threatened them with their families.

6. He intimidated others by threatening to seize their property and assets.

7. He forced others by restricting their freedom.

Then, an indictment full of slander was prepared. They kept the page count of the indictment thick because they thought that was the only way it could be convincing. But they also saw in a short time that thousands of pages shrank and shrank into a completely empty document."

SIGNATURE SUPPORT FROM 25 MILLION PEOPLE

"The nation saw it too. It caught them red-handed while they were trying to steal the ballot box. It objected. It took to the streets. It wrote an epic of democracy," said İmamoğlu, describing the support given to him with these words:

"Despite my presidential candidacy and my imprisonment, exactly 15.5 million heroes gave their support. I know that this support was not just for me, but for Turkey's struggle for democracy. It didn't stop there; 25 million people signed, saying, 'I want my ballot box in front of me and my candidate by my side.' The Republic of Turkey is a 103-year-old state. The fundamental principle of this state is the phrase, 'Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation.' This phrase means that the will of the nation cannot be usurped by any power. The ballot box is the strongest source of legitimacy in this country. In a society of 86 million, the election culture is deeply rooted. However, in recent years, the perception that democracy is being eroded, the separation of powers is weakening, and the impartiality of the judiciary is being overshadowed has also grown. This trial begins in an environment where trust in justice has dramatically declined."

EMPHASIS ON THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR AT THE PARTY MEETING AND THE HSK

Drawing attention to the situation of the prosecutor conducting the investigation and the current structure of the judiciary, İmamoğlu continued his criticisms:

"The politician disguised as a prosecutor, who carried out the task given by the architect of the trial, was rewarded after signing off on these unlawful acts and was sent to Ankara to head the judiciary. He was not impartial to begin with. He was much more than a man of law. There was no evil he did not commit. We have always talked about these. But the government is so reckless that those who said until yesterday, 'The judiciary is independent and impartial,' placed the politician disguised as a prosecutor right in the heart of politics. Even before the trial began, they ensured he appeared in the front row at AK Party meetings. By putting a party vest on his back, they sent a message to the whole world that 'This trial is political.' They were not even ashamed. All of this was made possible by the system change introduced in 2017. Today, all members of the HSK, which ensures the impartiality of the judiciary, without exception, are determined by the ruling alliance. In this case, can independence and impartiality be expected from the judiciary?"

İmamoğlu concluded his article by touching upon the importance of the trial on March 9:

"That is why the trial that will begin in Silivri on March 9 is not just a criminal case. This trial is one of the toughest tests for Turkish democracy. And both my colleagues and I know that we will not enter this test alone, with our hearts at ease. We feel the 86 million by our side, in our hearts. Because we and our nation know; if the judiciary becomes a tool for political competition, the loser will not just be the opposition. The loser will be Turkey. The greatest power of this country is the conscience of the nation. The perseverance and determination of our nation will reveal the will that will truly make the law, law. The time has come, it is near, and we will succeed together."

News Source: 12punto