Mansur Yavaş visits İmamoğlu in Silivri: Call for live broadcast of hearings

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş visited Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar at Silivri Prison. Speaking to members of the press after the meeting, Yavaş evaluated both the legal process and the morale of the mayors in prison.

"THEY ARE EAGERLY WAITING TO SEE WHEN THE INDICTMENT WILL BE ISSUED"

Yavaş conveyed the expectations of İmamoğlu and Karalar regarding the judicial process as follows:

"Everyone is waiting with curiosity for the law to take its course. They are currently waiting to see when the indictment will be issued and when they will be tried."

Stating that the detained mayors are not spending their time in prison idly, Yavaş said, "They are reading books and trying to improve themselves. Their morale is quite good."

CRITICISM OF DETENTION: "NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNIVERSAL LAW"

Emphasizing that the detentions are unnecessary and expressing that a political rather than a legal picture has emerged, Yavaş continued his remarks as follows:

"I have been saying it from the beginning; detention is a very exceptional measure. If there is a crime, let them be tried. But what will happen if they are acquitted? In this process, they are kept away from their families, their offices, and their duties. There is no compensation for this."

"The voters have expressed their will. They said, 'Govern us.' These people should be allowed to govern. Ultimately, the voters give the punishment. However, removing them from office through the judiciary strengthens the conviction that these trials are political and undermines trust in the judiciary. No one has the right to do this harm."

Yavaş also responded to a question regarding the court decision issued about Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer. Stating that he did not ask about the file directly but is following the developments closely, Yavaş said, "A decision was made for release on one of the two allegations and for the continuation of detention on the other. I followed the process myself yesterday."

"LET THE HEARINGS BE BROADCAST LIVE"

Supporting Ekrem İmamoğlu's request for the judicial process to be broadcast publicly on television, Yavaş called for the hearings to be broadcast live:

"Hearings are already held in public. Confidentiality only applies in special cases. If a regulation is made for it to be broadcast live on TRT, the public can see for themselves how justice is served. It is very important for the decision to be accepted by the public conscience."

Providing information about the content of the visit, Yavaş said that they met with Ekrem İmamoğlu for about an hour and discussed the political moves to be made in the coming period.

News Source: 12punto