Imamoglu asks the judge in the IMM case: 'Have you taken any measures against this open threat?'

The process has entered its sixth week in the IMM case, where a total of 414 defendants, 92 of whom are in custody, are being tried, including the Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Following the merger of the Beyoglu file with the main case, the number of defendants rose to 435, and the 20th hearing day of the trial will be held by the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court in Silivri.

In the previous, 19th session, the defense of IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's advisor, Necati Özkan, had begun. However, Ozkan's defense could not be completed, and the court panel adjourned the hearing to Monday, April 13.

In today's session, it is anticipated that Necati Özkan will continue his interrupted defense and that the statements of other defendants will be taken. Ozkan is expected to respond to the accusations directed under the headings of Action 4 and Action 13.

Following Ozkan and his lawyer, it is planned for one of the detained defendants, Esma Bayrak, to present her defense; if time permits, KIPTAS General Manager Ali Kurt is also scheduled to appear before the court panel.

The hearing process in the IMM case is being closely followed throughout the day. Here is what is happening in the courtroom...

15:00 | RECESS ENDED: OZKAN'S LAWYER AKALIN IS PRESENTING THE DEFENSE

The detained defendants were brought back into the courtroom after the recess. Family members and party supporters greeted them with applause and by calling out their names; the detainees responded by waving and smiling. 

Voices rose in the courtroom saying, "Keep your spirits high. Turkey is proud of you." A party member shouted, "Everything will be very beautiful. By God, we will come to power." 

The detained individuals waved to their families until the hearing began, while also chatting with their lawyers and among themselves. 

Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mehmet Pehlivan were the last to enter the courtroom, and chants of "President Imamoglu" were heard. An audience member raised their voice, saying, "Long live justice, long live democracy, long live the republic."

With the arrival of the court panel, the hearing resumed. Necati Özkan's lawyer, Kazım Yiğit Akalın, is presenting his defense.

13:15 | 'HUNGARY' MESSAGE FROM IMAMOGLU: BEAUTIFUL THINGS ARE HAPPENING AROUND US, AND THEY WILL HAPPEN IN TURKEY TOO!

During the break in the hearing, Imamoglu addressed the audience as he left the courtroom.

Recalling the elections in Hungary, Imamoglu spoke as follows:

"Let our struggle slogan be 'Long live democracy, long live justice, long live the republic.' Beautiful things are happening around us. They will happen in Turkey too."

13:10 | FIRST RECESS IN THE HEARING

The presiding judge adjourned the hearing following the questioning of Necati Özkan. 

Regarding the participation of detained Beyoglu Mayor Inan Guney in the IMM case following the consolidation of his file, the judge stated, "There will be no change in the order of questioning. We will issue the necessary correspondence for his attendance at the hearings."

12:45 | "GOD WILLING, WE WILL COMPLETE THE PRESIDENCY AS WELL"

Later, after the defense of campaign consultant Necati Özkan was completed, Imamoglu took the floor and directed questions to him.

First, he asked, "Imamoglu, did you ever buy an apartment from the construction project?" To Ozkan's reply, "I did not, Mr. Mayor," Imamoglu responded, "It is a good thing you didn't." The audience applauded this answer with laughter.

Imamoglu: "Did you have any official or unofficial position at the IMM, or was there anyone you managed or who managed you? Did you have such authority?"

Ozkan: "I do not hold a position. I go to meetings when called upon from time to time. I state my own opinion, and that is it. It is not a job I go to every day."

Imamoglu: Has anyone received or given you instructions?

Ozkan: “There was neither anyone who received nor gave any. The day Mr. Ekrem’s campaign ends, my work there ends as well.”

When Imamoglu asked, “Did you take an active part in any tender process or budget decision at the IMM?” Ozkan answered these with “no” as well.

Later, questioning Ozkan regarding Hüseyin Gün, Imamoglu said, “Do I have memory loss? Did we experience such a thing? A person with whom I have had as much dialogue as a grain of sand in the sea is listed as my superior and yours. Did he interview you? Did he have a job interview or an organizational discussion when he hired you? You have TSK experience, I want to hear a bit about this from you. You called this a fiasco, but I cannot find a word to describe it.”

Ozkan replied as follows:

“The allegations regarding Hüseyin Gün are baseless. He was dropped in by parachute. He has no relationship with me or Imamoglu. Our entire relationship ended at the end of August 2019, and we have not met since. The man sent me a message saying, ‘Even though we don’t know each other very well.’ Can anyone who is literate interpret it this way?”

Imamoglu then asked, “My last question: We have had a friendship and consultancy relationship for 13 years. I am happy about this. How many elections have we won together?”

Ozkan said, “We won all the elections in which the citizens voted. We only lost the deputy mayoral election held in the IMM Assembly after the passing of Kadir Topbas, because the majority in the assembly was on the other side. Other than that, I don’t recall any.”

12:38 | Necati Özkan: 'IT LATER TURNED INTO A MACHINE OF LIES AND SLANDER...'

Ozkan, the campaign director for Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is accused under Action 4 and Action 13, spoke in his defense regarding Action 4, which includes allegations that he demanded 4 apartments from businessman-turned-confessor Adem Kameroğlu.

Ozkan used the following expressions for Kameroglu: 

"There was not a single statement he gave against me, but then things changed. Someone must have pulled this person's ear, and he probably understood the threats and risks. Later, he turned into a machine of lies and slander."

Necati Özkan stated that he was not asked any questions by law enforcement, the prosecutor's office, or the judge regarding the alleged act, but that his statement was taken 7.5 months later following his petitions.

Ozkan stated that after his petitions, his partner and family friend Ayse Hitchins was detained, and that only his own partner was subjected to proceedings within the scope of Action 4 regarding the four properties in question. He stated that Hitchins has been his partner for 25 years and holds a 15 percent stake in the company.

Ozkan explained that in 2017, both an advertising agreement and an investment relationship were established with Adem Kameroğlu for a project in Beylikduzu. He stated that they made an agreement for four properties, that he made the payment in cash, and that they signed the contracts on April 20, 2017.

Stating that the business agreement was terminated and the campaign work was given to another agency, Ozkan said that he made attempts to convert his payment into a bank record and was able to obtain the receipts in this way.

Özkan stated that Adem Kameroğlu was added to the case file later, noting that there were no accusations against him in his initial statement, but that he later provided contradictory testimonies within the scope of effective remorse.

"FIRST HE SAID 'IT WAS RETURNED', THEN HE CHANGED HIS STATEMENT"

Stating that Kameroğlu's claim that he "did not know Necati Özkan" was contrary to the truth, Özkan expressed that there had been a business relationship between the parties spanning many years. 

He further noted that Kameroğlu gave different statements regarding the refund of the payment, first saying "it was returned" and then changing this statement.

Responding to the prosecution's claim that the documents submitted to the file were forged, Özkan said the contracts were dated 2017 and the signatures belonged to the company's general manager. He stated that the prosecution had not asked him any questions on this matter.

11:15 | NECATİ ÖZKAN BEFORE THE JUDGE

Subsequently, Necati Özkan, defending himself against the second accusation regarding the data leak allegations—which occupied the entire previous week of the trial—stated that his name appeared only at the beginning and end of the indictment regarding 'Action 13', but that there was no mention of him in the content. He said, "I am nowhere in the content of Action 13, yet I am being asked to be punished for this action. This action was not even asked of me during the investigation phase."

Özkan stated that he had no technical or administrative connection to the "İstanbul Senin" application, which is at the center of the accusations.

Stating, “I know neither the software of this application, nor its working methods, nor its security structure,” Özkan noted that his only role in this matter was the “Istanbul is Yours” commercial film he prepared during the 2019 election campaign.

Addressing the allegations of data leakage within the scope of the action, Özkan reminded the court that he was in detention during the dates in question, saying, “It is said that the leak occurred in April 2025 and the alleged sale began on May 26, 2025. I was in detention in both April and May. It is physically impossible for me to have been involved in this.”

Stating that his name was not mentioned in the technical examinations or the USOM report within the scope of the action, Özkan noted that the only issue that could be considered evidence in the file was his name appearing in an email regarding the program, but argued that this actually cleared him, saying: “If it is true, it says: ‘Mr. Necati will have finished the story side by this week.’ The story side; meaning the narrative side, the tale side. Of what? Of the Istanbul is Yours application. I wrote that story from the very beginning anyway.”

11:00 | FROM İMAMOĞLU TO THE COURT: “HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY MEASURES AGAINST THIS OPEN THREAT?”

According to Cumhuriyet, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who took the floor before the defense phase began at the hearing to speak about the inclusion of the detained Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney in the file, made the following statements:

“He conveyed to me last night that he has no information about when he will attend the hearing. He has no information about whether a new action will be added. In particular, as a result of the operations and detentions carried out for over a year, some indescribable details have turned into a form of torture whose nature is unclear. These people are mothers, fathers, laborers, young people… Some of them were released first, then arrested again.

Can the Turkish judiciary forget someone in a dungeon? My driver is in detention, it is unclear what is happening, there is not a word about them. It is not clear why they were arrested. I think this page needs to be closed. It is an inconceivable act, a shameful situation. I think this situation will tire us out even more and harm the case. These people were arrested after being held in custody for 4-5 days and then thrown into a dungeon. Forget them for 6 months, 11 months… There is nothing… This does not fit with conscience. Those who signed those arrest warrants were promoted, but these people have been in detention for 11 months. Zero salary… This is a very critical issue. I do not think there is any obstacle to reaching a verdict after people have rested at 13:00.”

Last week, I received a threat from the prosecutor saying, 'If you don't know your place, we will teach you your place.' This was entered into the record. Who is the owner of this? Who or whom? I have been threatened. On behalf of whom, which organization, or which institution was I threatened? What does this threat cover? Is it my life safety, property safety, my family, or my freedom?

I am currently being tried here, and Mr. President, you are responsible for me. Have you taken any action or measures against this open threat? Will you take any? I will follow this and keep it on the agenda. It is important to me. If you say, 'We will not take any measures,' I will do my best to take my own personal measures. I want your answer on this matter."

The Presiding Judge replied, "No measures have been taken."

Upon this, Ekrem İmamoğlu said, "No measures? I will take my own measures and do what is necessary. We have the nation behind us."

10:55 | ACTIVITY IN THE HALL: THE HEARING HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN

Defendants, lawyers, members of the press, and observers have taken their places in the courtroom. With the arrival of the court panel, the new session of the trial has begun.