Court denies permission for İmamoğlu's son to travel abroad for scientific presentation
Mehmet Selim İmamoğlu, who was invited to a prestigious international physics conference, had his request to travel to Germany denied by the court. Lawyers appealing the decision pointed out that this would be not only an individual loss but also an academic and institutional one.
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The participation of Mehmet Selim İmamoğlu, the son of Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is being tried in the IMM case, in an international scientific meeting organized by the German Physical Society has been blocked by the judiciary. The court rejected his request to travel abroad.
According to a report on halktv.com.tr, while numerous researchers from more than 30 countries applied for the scientific presentation to be held as part of the 'DPG Condensed Matter Physics Spring Meeting,' Mehmet Selim İmamoğlu was among those invited.
İmamoğlu received an official invitation for a poster presentation at the meeting, which will be hosted by the Technical University of Dresden between March 8-13, to present his study titled 'The Effect of Catalytic Substrate and Graphene Films on the Growth and Physical Properties of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Oxide Nanoparticles.'
THE ONLY STUDY ON BEHALF OF ITU
It was stated that the study belonging to İmamoğlu was the only one to qualify to represent Istanbul Technical University this year at the meeting, which is considered one of the most prestigious scientific gatherings in the field of physics engineering.
APPLICATION MADE TO THE COURT
Mehmet Selim İmamoğlu applied to the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court through his lawyers in order to attend the scientific event, which would contribute to Turkey's academic visibility.
In the application, it was requested that the travel ban be lifted after attending the hearing on March 9. If this was not deemed possible, it was requested that the ban be temporarily lifted between March 9-15, and if that was not accepted, that permission be granted by posting bail.
The petition stated, "If he is unable to attend the meeting, it will result in irreparable consequences for Imamoglu regarding his master's degree process and doctoral applications, and for ITU and his research group regarding international academic representation and collaboration opportunities."
REQUEST NOT ACCEPTED
In its decision dated February 16, the court rejected the request for permission to travel abroad.
APPEAL FROM LAWYERS
Following the decision, Imamoglu's lawyers filed an appeal. The petition emphasized that "this meeting is not an ordinary academic event, but a decisive stage for Imamoglu in terms of opening his master's thesis to international scientific review, presenting his work that has passed the peer-review acceptance process, gaining academic visibility for doctoral applications, and establishing contact with international research networks."
It was also stated that the work "is the only study to be presented by ITU this year and constitutes the output of a one-year systematic research process."
The petition stated that "if participation does not take place, it will not be possible to share this scientific effort on an international platform," and included the following assessment:
"This is not just an individual loss. The inability to present the study on an international platform will prevent the scientific output of the university and the research group from entering global academic circulation and will also create a loss in terms of our country's scientific visibility."
With the appeal also rejected, Mehmet Selim İmamoğlu will be unable to give a presentation at the scientific meeting organized by the German Physical Society in Dresden.