Ekrem İmamoğlu's defense before the judge revealed! A striking jab at Erdoğan...

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained in a dawn operation on the morning of March 19 as part of a 'corruption' and 'terrorism' investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. A decision was reached yesterday regarding İmamoğlu, who had been held in custody for 4 days. While İmamoğlu was arrested on corruption charges, his arrest in the terrorism investigation was denied.

The defense statement made by İBB Mayor İmamoğlu at the Istanbul 10th Criminal Court of Peace regarding the corruption investigation has been obtained. Using harsher language this time, contrary to his police and prosecutor interrogations, İmamoğlu stated the following in summary:

“All the allegations against me are fabricated and lies; I have been brought before the court in the face of a system built within a conspiracy. The conspiracy continued in an orderly fashion here as well. The same order continues; I have undergone 1,200 inspections since the moment I took office, but nothing was found as a result of these investigations. I am experiencing how people who conduct their political struggle dishonorably use the judiciary as an apparatus.”

“THE NATION DELIVERED A SLAP OF DEMOCRACY”

This mindset, which shuts down the city entirely to traffic and makes entry and exit controlled, thinks that by acting in a cowardly manner, realizing how wrong their actions are, and recognizing that they are lies and slander, they can damage Ekrem İmamoğlu's reputation with fabricated crimes as if fleeing from their own nation. I know very well the answer that these dishonorable people have received and will receive from the nation. A handful of people chasing dishonor committed theft by stealing the will of the nation when they were defeated in the March 31, 2019 elections, and they canceled the election; in the next election, the nation slapped these few people in the face with democracy.”

“THE PRESIDENT'S INSTRUCTIONS WERE CARRIED OUT”

People who have not received their share of democracy, law, and justice, just as they violated the rights of the people in 2019, coincidentally continued to violate the rights of the people in the month of Ramadan in 2025. These pathetic few people, who violate the rights of the people while looking them in the eye, see every path as permissible for their political will and leaders to win the election; what is happening today is the result of this.

Moreover, this pathetic mindset that gave the order for me to be taken from my home at 06:00 four days ago, just 3-5 days before this process, filled the files with fabricated MASAK reports; while it was claimed that 'a small example of 250,000 TL is seen in the documents, your company bought this building,' they did not investigate that this building was purchased by taking out loans from 2 major banks. They have carried out the instructions of the President, who creates perception, casts aspersions, gave the date of today's court months in advance, signaled today's court, and said 'the biggest radish is in the saddlebag.' Our nation will give its answer to everyone who deserves it.”

HARSH CRITICISM OF THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR

This systematic operation began with the Chief Prosecutor's appointment to Istanbul in October. This individual, whose rumors have surrounded all the streets of Istanbul, is ready and willing to do all kinds of evil to reach his goal by filing one fabricated lawsuit after another in order to curry favor. I am not going to expect justice from a person who is a slave to others. As a person who has added meaning to his life by fighting for honor and dignity, I know very well those who do the exact opposite.

If we summarize the fabricated lawsuits filed against me to date, they are the diploma case, the 'fool' case, the expert witness case, the Governor case, the case in Beylikdüzü that has been going on for 10 years and where the prosecutor received a report in the last 3 hearings, and the threat case that the Chief Prosecutor fabricated regarding himself. All of these are the result of the duty of following instructions from Ankara to Istanbul and being a slave to others. Our nation will witness how a decent father, a decent family elder, a decent son, and Ekrem İmamoğlu from Trabzon, as a citizen, will wage my legal struggle against lawlessness and my struggle to seek rights against those who commit this lawlessness with a fair judicial system by following all these processes.

“THEY SET THEIR SIGHTS ON THE NATIONAL WILL”

The President, who lost by a margin of over 1 million in Istanbul in the last election and fought and lost in Istanbul with 17 Ministers and himself holding dozens of rallies, is carrying out the process of seizing the İBB and various districts he lost in Istanbul through the judiciary. I am addressing our nation from here; let our nation know that it is not just Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma, work, power, honor, dignity, property, or assets that have been targeted.

These people have also set their sights on the existing will of the nation, and as of today, looking at the decision referred by the prosecutors, I state that our nation's property, assets, honor, pride, dignity, and labor are also under threat. This mindset is a manifestation of thinking that the seat, the palace, Istanbul, the country, and everything belonging to the nation belongs to them. I remind you in the holy month of Ramadan that the world is transient, and worldly goods remain with no one. The eternal resting place is a 2-meter plot. Of course, with my faith first in the Almighty Creator and then in my nation, I entrust myself to our nation; our nation must continue to take responsibility for the struggle to seek rights, the nation is great.”

Continuing his statement, İmamoğlu addressed the allegations regarding İmamoğlu İnşaat, saying:

“It is a 35-year-old firm; it has made over 2,000 people homeowners in Beylikdüzü alone. Its history, with its previous name and collective company name, dates back to the 1950s. The accumulated wealth presented is the work of this. Even if the assets that are thought to be an eyesore have been identified, it is known from past periods that I had assets above this.”

A STRIKING JAB AT ERDOĞAN

My assets come from my family company, which has been continuing for 3 generations; my business life journey is noble and does not resemble the fabricated political life stories of those who set out with just a ring. It is equal to a pile of tax record-holders and respectable businessmanship. It has come from the 1970s to the 1980s, from the 1990s to the 2000s, and from 2000 to today. Therefore, I do not take the MASAK reports seriously, and I declare that I will file a criminal complaint regarding the fabricated information and documents in the MASAK reports.”

“THERE IS NO IRREGULAR TRANSACTION MADE WITH MY KNOWLEDGE”

Murat Ongun works as a Presidential Advisor at the Municipality; I absolutely do not accept that he has committed any irregular transaction with my knowledge. In the inspections conducted and in the determinations I have made personally, I do not allow such events due to my personality of public morality, transparency, and accountability. It is definitely not within my knowledge. I have no connection with Murat Kapki. Murat Ongun is my advisor. Fatih Keleş is my council member. I do not think the file was examined in detail in 1-2 hours. Therefore, the questions regarding HTS were not understood by me.”