İmamoğlu at Çağlayan Courthouse! Barriers and water cannons draw attention

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu gave a statement today regarding allegations of irregularities concerning his university diploma. The IMM Mayor arrived at the Çağlayan Courthouse with his 2 lawyers. The statement process for İmamoğlu, who is currently with the prosecutor's office, has begun.

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik drew attention to the heavy security measures around the Çağlayan Courthouse and made the following statement on his X social media account:

The area around Çağlayan Courthouse has been under an exaggerated blockade since last night in a way that restricts people's freedom of movement. Barriers and water cannons everywhere...

Don't be afraid; Mayor Ekrem will only go to give his statement with his lawyers today. He will give his statement and reveal the truth... pic.twitter.com/FjvBwXJKbo

— Özgür Çelik (@ozgurcelikchp) March 5, 2025

"The area around Çağlayan Courthouse has been under an exaggerated blockade since last night in a way that restricts people's freedom of movement. Barriers and water cannons everywhere...

Don't be afraid; Mayor Ekrem will only go to give his statement with his lawyers today. He will give his statement and reveal the truth.

It is merciless to keep state officials there for no reason in the middle of the night during the month of Ramadan on a cold winter day. It is waste, it is injustice. Our Turkey will overcome these difficult days.

The honorable, honest, and conscientious people of this country see all this injustice, lawlessness, and cruelty. The public's eyes are on you."

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched an investigation for the crime of "forgery of an official document" following reports that IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's undergraduate diploma was fake and findings in a report prepared by the Council of Higher Education regarding the forgery of his diploma.

İmamoğlu had been invited to the prosecutor's office to provide his statement within the scope of the investigation.

In a letter sent to Istanbul University within the scope of the investigation opened against İmamoğlu for the crime of "forgery of an official document" on the allegation that his university diploma was fake, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requested that necessary actions be taken as soon as possible so that any work and transactions to be established based on İmamoğlu's diploma would not be unlawful.

News Source: 12punto