İmamoğlu speaks from prison: Harsh reaction to Kılıçdaroğlu! Emphasis on betrayal

Ekrem İmamoğlu answered journalist İsmail Saymaz's questions through his lawyers. Reacting to Kılıçdaroğlu's words, "I do not find rallies or protests appropriate," İmamoğlu expressed his grievance, saying, "These words burn deeply; I cannot tolerate them." Recalling the support Kılıçdaroğlu had promised during the "Fool Case" process, İmamoğlu stated, "Kemal Bey had said at the time, 'I will raise Turkey to its feet, I will hold a Justice March.' Now, he is in a completely different stance." İmamoğlu noted the following:

"Now, while the party is under a major operation, the mayor of Istanbul, the CHP's presidential candidate, is in prison, and our mayors, honest and moral bureaucrats, our fellow travelers, our Party Assembly member, and our former deputy are in prison, the words spoken burn one deeply. I am facing a feeling of being subjected to a great betrayal. While so many people are in prison and it is not a trial but direct punishment, and families are under torture, it is impossible for me to tolerate this statement.

"My biggest 'accomplice' is Kemal Bey"

Why am I in prison and a captive? Because İmamoğlu won four elections against the president. I put an end to the order of rent and plunder of those who say 'Istanbul is my love.' I blocked Kanal Istanbul. I became a nightmare for those who experience the feeling that whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey."

Stating that he has served the CHP for 16 years and worked with Kılıçdaroğlu for 13.5 years, İmamoğlu said, "If I am being accused, if I have a crime, I am in prison due to this siege carried out against me because of the services I performed for 13.5 years. If I am a captive, and if I am still fighting for democracy, justice, and the country without hesitation and am being subjected to cruelties and declared a criminal because of this, my biggest 'accomplice' is Kemal Bey. Because for a large part of this struggle, we were fellow travelers and companions in destiny," he said.

"It burned me inside, I feel indescribably bad"

İmamoğlu also reacted sharply to Kılıçdaroğlu's expressions such as "I will watch, I will look, I will wait, I will follow the case." He said, "A fellow traveler, a companion in destiny, people running toward the same ideals cannot treat each other like that. These words do not fit my personality, my integrity, or my determination and resolve to struggle. If the subject is the homeland, the rest is detail. I have lived for this, and I continue to live for it. I do not accept these words, and I never will. It burned me inside; I feel indescribably bad," he said.

Prison meeting with Kılıçdaroğlu...

Describing their 1.5-hour conversation in prison, İmamoğlu stated that he asked Kılıçdaroğlu, "My Chairman, are our party congresses not clean?" and received the answer, "They are." İmamoğlu conveyed that he told him, "Then you need to solve this problem; you need to stop these bad people and stand against the interference in our party through the judiciary."

Regarding Kılıçdaroğlu's response, "I had already recorded a video," he said he told him that this was not enough and suggested that Kılıçdaroğlu meet with Chairman Özgür Özel and say with a strong statement, "No one can speak ill of our congresses; our congresses are clean," and even suggested that if he needed to go to the courthouse, he should go with Özgür Özel and give the prosecutor the answer he deserves.

Stating that he requested Özgür Özel to call Kılıçdaroğlu upon Kılıçdaroğlu saying, "Okay, we will meet," and that Özgür Özel said he would call with pleasure, İmamoğlu expressed that the statement, "Let's wait for the court decision, and we will sit and talk with Özgür Bey accordingly," caused him great disappointment.

"You will be remembered with shame, you will be cursed"

Addressing those within the CHP who are trying to stomach the "absolute nullity" decision, İmamoğlu said, "Whatever you are going to do, you will do it knowing and seeing everything. You also know that this decision will be an interference in the privacy of the CHP and that its only purpose is to bring down the CHP, which became the first party after 50 years, from power."

Emphasizing that an unlawful judicial process is taking place and that its only purpose is to prevent the government from losing the elections, İmamoğlu said the following:

"If you are preparing to stomach this decision and do what is required by it, knowing and seeing what we all know and see, let my last words to you be this: You will be remembered with shame, you will be cursed. Do not stoop to this. If you want to leave a clean name for your family and children, turn back from this path you have entered. At the end of the path you have entered, there is no reward other than being a crutch for the government. The CHP will overcome everything in the long run. But you will be left alone with what you have done and the stain of shame you have smeared on yourselves. Be a part of a strong struggle together and a stance against what is being done to our country. Do not do it."

Harsh message to the government: "The CHP is not a party that will kneel before you or be seized from the outside"

Warning the government as well, İmamoğlu said, "The CHP is not a party that will kneel before you or be seized from the outside. You have not understood. The CHP is not a party that will allow its privacy to be interfered with. You have not grasped it. You have not known Turkey either," he stated.

Emphasizing that the nation's tolerance is broad but not enough to tolerate being deprived of the chance to change the government, İmamoğlu said, "Do not get your hopes up: You will not be able to stay there forever. You came with elections, you will leave with elections. You will have to agree to leave with elections."

"We are Turkey's first party and we are marching to power"

Stating that the decision to invalidate the congress concerns not only the CHP but all voters, İmamoğlu reiterated that the only purpose of the decision is to prevent the government from losing the upcoming elections.

"In the local elections, we made the CHP the first party in Turkey after 50 years. Now we are Turkey's first party by a wide margin and we are marching to power. That is why we are not being tried, we are being directly punished," said İmamoğlu, adding that these cases are a matter of Turkish democracy and that he invites the chairmen of the parties and the Turkish judiciary to do their duty.

"We must fight under the leadership of our chairman against this attack carried out against our party by the judiciary"

Addressing all CHP members, Ekrem İmamoğlu made the following call:

Today, each of us must act together without 'ifs' or 'buts' and fight under the leadership of our chairman against this attack carried out against our party by the judiciary. We must all join hands and oppose this conspiracy carried out against our party. The issue is our democracy. The issue is our future, our youth, our tomorrows. The issue is our country.

Invalidating the CHP congress will not be the last decision the government will take in this direction. The government will continue to do its best to ensure that it does not lose in the elections and that the elections are held in a way that the government will not lose. But let no one get their hopes up. The voter has already given their verdict. This government will no longer rule Turkey. Elections will be held, the government will change. There will be no turning back from this."