Breaking News... Tension again in the IMM trial: İmamoğlu, expected to present his defense, removed from the courtroom!

The 64th day of the trial conducted at the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court, known publicly as the "IMM trial," begins today. A total of 414 defendants are being tried within the scope of the case; 59 of them are currently detained. All eyes are on Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) President Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is a defendant in the file and also the CHP's presidential candidate.

İMAMOĞLU BROUGHT TO THE COURTROOM

The hearing is being held in Courtroom No. 1 across from Silivri Prison. As reported by Cumhuriyet, İmamoğlu, who was not present in the courtroom last week due to a ban on attending court imposed upon him, attended the hearing today. The detained defendants brought into the courtroom were greeted with applause.

In the trial's indictment, IMM Sports Club President Fatih Keleş, the person accused of the most actions after Ekrem İmamoğlu, presented his own defense yesterday. However, when Keleş's lawyer, Nergiz İnce, could not finish a portion of her defense, she requested time from the court to present the remaining part in today's session.

Before noon, Nergiz İnce will first complete her defense. Then, the statements of Keleş's other lawyer, Baran Kaya, will be heard. In the afternoon session, Ekrem İmamoğlu is expected to begin his defense.

IMM Deputy Secretary General Erdal Celal Aksoy, who has been unable to attend hearings for a long time due to health problems and underwent surgery in prison in March, also took his place in the courtroom for the first time in today's session.

Here is what happened at the hearing...

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14:50 | İMAMOĞLU REMOVED FROM THE COURTROOM

The presiding judge decided to remove Ekrem İmamoğlu from the courtroom. 

Lawyers and spectators protested the decision with applause.  Chants of "President İmamoğlu" were heard. 

İmamoğlu left the courtroom saying, "Those I will judge in Ankara are trying to manage the judiciary here. The Ministry of Justice is a ministry of collapse. Justice belongs to the nation; I am speaking to the nation. Let us turn our faces to the nation."

14:30 | İMAMOĞLU: THERE IS NO ONE TO SILENCE ME

Due to the expectation that İmamoğlu would present his defense, a large number of spectators and politicians are also present in the courtroom. IMM Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan, CHP İstanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, CHP Trabzon Provincial Chair Mustafa Bak, Deputy Chairman Gökan Zeybek, along with deputies Mahmut Tanal, Bahadır Erdem, Nail Çiler, Kayıhan Pala, Bülent Tezcan, Turan Taşkın Özer, and many party members are following the hearing.

On the other hand, representatives from the consulates of the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are also present in the courtroom for the hearing.

Ekrem İmamoğlu: I did not come for an interrogation, honorable panel, honorable judge. I did not come for an interrogation. I came to the podium to express some of my thoughts regarding the interrogation order, time constraints, and some of my own findings, requests, and objections.

Judge: Mr. Ekrem, we will take your defense; our planning is in that form.

Ekrem İmamoğlu: I think my findings regarding the right to defense and the order of defense should be heard. Frankly, you called me here, you have statements about finishing on July 9th. Therefore, as of the moment you called me here, I do not know your planning. Moreover, I have two restricted colleagues before me. Both Mr. Murat's lawyer and Mr. Fatih's lawyer. I do not currently know with what kind of planning you called me here.

Judge: Our trial has been going on for 4 months. Our planning was already clear from the beginning; we didn't make a new plan. Our planning is clear from the beginning. The order of our witnesses who have not been heard is also clear. You stated that you wanted to be heard last. Again, at this point, it is your turn to be heard last. So, in this sense, what is the reason for you not presenting your defense right now?

Ekrem İmamoğlu: No, that is exactly what I am asking. You have a decision to finish on the 9th, and I heard that you insistently express this. Because, as you know, I was not here yesterday. I was also deprived of listening to my defendant colleagues. This is actually a serious violation of rights, as my legal right has been violated. Moreover, last week, what do you call it, the 203 decision, I had no words regarding your word on Thursday regarding the 203 decision. I stood up and explained my program very politely. That is, I presented my suggestion on how it should be. I expressed that we need a reasonable amount of time. While making the sequence, I mentioned my hearings on Monday. I explained my requests regarding the most fair management of the process here with my participation and the interrogations of the people I need to listen to here. You gave me a rejection response to these, and I went back to my seat and sat down. I have neither an insult to the court nor a negative word about the process.

You insistently said "it will be like this," and I just said to myself from there, "then I will not go to the interrogation," that is all. But you imposed a decision on me regarding leaving the courtroom. So, in that respect, frankly, yesterday, as far as I understand, in a way that is not even written, my being brought here from the prison right next door was prevented. And at 8:10, they came to my room, and information was given by the officials that "we were not brought to the court by the judge today," and it was said, "the gendarmerie will not take you." In this way, I was not brought here. And most importantly, that is, I could neither listen to the interrogation of my friend Fatih Keleş, who is given the most importance, who is subjected to the most insults, accusations, and harassment, nor could I listen to our questions, nor could I ask my questions. A very serious violation of rights. In that respect, having experienced these, and again this morning, I unfortunately had no idea whether I would come or not. In the morning, I insistently asked around 8:45, "what will happen?" Information was given that "there is no problem today." I came, and unfortunately, I watched the lawyer being cut off here.

In this sense, in an indictment where I am described as a "criminal organization leader" and which, in my opinion, is loaded with the slander of the lawlessness of the century, when you call me to this podium and say "start your interrogation" at a point where you previously said "I will finish on July 9th, I am determined about this," in an atmosphere where approximately 10-11 hours of productive time remain, I need to know this, such a program; after all, I am also experiencing the court you manage here, honorable judge. My defense will end; I see it as a responsibility to ensure that the lawyers of both Fatih Keleş and Murat Ongun, whose rights were violated, are also heard and completed, to remedy my rights violations here, and to give the public the feeling that a fair process is being conducted in this court, which all of Turkey and the world is watching. At a point where their lawyers also finish their words, my own defense will end. My three lawyers' defenses will end. Before that, there are your questions, questions that my defendant colleagues will naturally ask me, perhaps, questions that each of them will ask, that come to their minds... Just as I ask them, perhaps they will ask too. Plus, there are questions the lawyers will ask, these will end. And tomorrow, naturally, you will ask for an opinion for the interim decision from the prosecution and then you will take a break, then you will announce the decision. When I look at these, when I add them up from top to bottom, honorable judge, honorable panel, a 6-7 hour period remains. If your decision is clear, if you say this calendar will not change, it is really unthinkable for me to be subjected to an interrogation here.

Look, let me give you one or two examples; I was neighbors, Zafer Party Chairman Mr. Ümit Özdağ made a full-day defense just for insulting the President, he was never interrupted. Dear Demirtaş, dear Selahattin Demirtaş, that is, he is subjected to serious lawlessness and unfortunately, he is not released in Edirne. Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş made a defense for 14 days without being interrupted, 14 days without being interrupted. And as you know, they were singular issues he was facing, and of course, he made a politically-themed defense on that issue. In a file where there are exactly 143 actions, 109 detained friends, and over 400 people held responsible for this business... Plus, I am someone who has over 20 files related or linked to this. The day before yesterday, I was in a espionage case. Related to this place. There was also a diploma case... My diploma was [verified] one day before March 19, and a forgery case was opened. 20 cases similar to this... What I have to say is of course not limited to this. However, if you are clear on the 9th, I want to express some of my objections. I think it is my right to hear if you have another thought. 

Presiding Judge: We have been declaring this for 2 months. We are of the opinion that you and your lawyers also contributed to it taking this long. We will not make any changes to the program. Whether or not to present a defense is your discretion. If you do not, we can close the session by saying you used your right to remain silent.

İmamoğlu: I am not using my right to remain silent. There is no one to silence me. 

Presiding Judge: If you are not using it, let us do the identity check and move on to your defense.

İmamoğlu: When I took the floor to ask questions to the defendants, when I tended to ask questions with short 2-3-5 minute explanations, you repeatedly put a caveat by saying, 'Mr. Ekrem, you will explain this at length in your own defense.' This is leading to a serious violation of rights. Here, sometimes you listened to 5 actions for an hour, sometimes you listened to one action for hours. People appreciated you for this. Now, coming and restricting İmamoğlu, who is being tried with 2,500 years, harms you, your podium, and the Turkish judiciary. To be honest, I don't care about the harm it does to you, but the Turkish judiciary will be harmed. You should make a decision by thinking about yourself, your panel, even those who are politically responsible, and by thinking about Turkey's judiciary.

14:25 | HEARING RESTARTED

The break given to the hearing has ended. The detained individuals were brought to the courtroom with intense applause and cheering support. 

Finally, Ekrem İmamoğlu also came to the courtroom with chants of "President İmamoğlu." 

His father Hasan İmamoğlu and his son Selim İmamoğlu also took their places in the section reserved for non-detained defendants.

13:41 | CHP LEADER ÖZEL IN SILIVRI: ''WE ARE WAITING FOR JUSTICE''

CHP leader Özgür Özel came to Silivri before the defense that Ekrem İmamoğlu will present in the IMM trial. 

Özel responded to a journalist's question, "What are you expecting?" with "We are waiting for justice." 

During the break in the hearing, Özgür Özel, IMM Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan, CHP's Elected Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, and İmamoğlu's wife Dilek İmamoğlu came together. 

12:55 - FIRST BREAK GIVEN, IT IS İMAMOĞLU'S TURN

After Keleş's lawyer Nergiz İnce, his other lawyer Baran Kaya made a short 5-minute defense, and Keleş's defense was completed. After the break, Ekrem İmamoğlu will begin his defense. After the break, Ekrem İmamoğlu will begin his defense. As İmamoğlu was going out for the break, he left the courtroom saying, "We are here after the break. Let's see what happens..."

"IF HE HAD COME FOR TEA, HE WOULD NOT BE HERE"

Speaking for the majority of her defense about those who benefit from effective remorse laws, İnce addressed the presiding judge, saying, "Within the scope of the detention reviews conducted to date, you have not been very generous regarding releases; we saw this in the interim sessions. Release is a very vital matter. Life is very precious in terms of the continuation of people's lives, their families, and their children. It is a short thing, something with an end. This is actually the situation for the directors who are the perpetrators. This period of time spent inside is time stolen from everyone here, from their own lives and their families' lives."

"Because my time was restricted, I could not get into the actions; I will explain the actions by making an additional defense," said İnce, continuing: "It is clear that there is excessive punishment specifically regarding my client. The prosecution is taking revenge. If he had responded to the prosecutor's offer of a tea chat, if he had become an informant, he would not be here today."

At the end of her speech, reminding once again that as Keleş's lawyers they could not present their defense as they wished, İnce concluded her defense with these words: "Mr. Fatih is a very honorable person. There is a bond between my client and us. As lawyers, we are satisfied with him. We could not present our defense today; I hope you are also satisfied with us. We have a long road ahead."

Following İnce's defense, Keleş's other lawyer, Baran Kaya, made a short 5-minute defense. Kaya used the following expressions in his brief defense:

"My client is accused of 137 actions and punishment is requested. Yesterday, he presented his own defense. If we exclude the question-and-answer part, my colleague's defense lasted 2 hours. We discussed the actions one by one. The remaining actions were also with me. However, when we calculate based on the time you have given so far, it amounts to about 3 minutes or so. He is the second most accused defendant in this file. I think there is a desire in your panel not to listen to the second defendant, not to listen to his defense. I said this towards the end of the hearing yesterday. I think that at the end of our defense, this situation of your panel will change. I think he will be released. I think he will be acquitted. However, your panel clearly does not think so. Therefore, you do not feel the need to listen. I would like to state clearly that we perceive this as a clear violation of the right to a fair trial, that my client is not being tried fairly, and that this is how we perceive this situation. I would like to have it recorded in the minutes that our right to defense has been clearly violated, that his defense has been cut short, and that we have been limited to 1-2 minutes, 3 minutes regarding the actions; that is all I have to say."

12:10 - TIME WARNING FROM THE PRESIDING JUDGE

As İnce continued her defense, the Presiding Judge intervened and asked İnce to complete her defense by 13:00 so that the defense of Keleş's other lawyer, Baran Kaya, and subsequently İmamoğlu's defense could begin at an appropriate time. Criticizing the situation, İnce stated that she had only completed 60 percent of her defense and requested that a statement indicating that her right to defense was being restricted be entered into the hearing record.

11:00 - KELEŞ'S LAWYER DEFENSE CONTINUES

Fatih Keleş's lawyer, Nergiz İnce, continued her defense, which was left unfinished yesterday, by referencing a Leonard Cohen song. İnce said, "Everybody knows that the ship is leaking, everybody knows that the captain is lying, and everybody knows that the dice are loaded. We also know why the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included organized crime in the file."

Lawyer Nergiz İnce addressed the claim that "Fatih Keleş is Ekrem İmamoğlu's safe." İnce stated that the indictment claims Keleş is İmamoğlu's safe, the organization's safe, and sometimes one of the safes, noting that there is constant change regarding this matter.   

Lawyer İnce pointed out that there is an abstract discourse that Keleş is "known by everyone to be guilty." İnce said, "In that case, we request that this person named 'everyone' or those consisting of 'everyones' be identified and heard as witnesses before your court. If my client is being evaluated as a safe based on the rumors and abstract statements of this 'everyone',  then I will also 

mention another 'everyone.' There is an opinion known by millions of 'everyones' that this file is political and a setup... Let this also be included in the file," she said.  

Continuing, İnce spoke about the claim that Fatih Keleş gave the order to seize the security cameras at İmamoğlu's residence after the operations on March 19, 2025, saying, "My client is not in the footage. He was in prison on the date of the alleged crime."

Fatih Keleş, President of the IMM Sports Club, who is the person accused of the most actions after CHP's Presidential candidate and IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu in the indictment, completed his defense yesterday.