İmamoğlu reminds Erdoğan of his own trial: 'The President knows the courthouse corridors best'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) and Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (TBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu made statements to journalists in Beylikdüzü.

İmamoğlu reacted to the arrest of Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat.

Recalling Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who was arrested on October 30 and replaced by a trustee, İmamoğlu criticized the practices applied to both Akpolat and Özer.

İmamoğlu used the phrase 'a persecution of discrediting is being carried out' regarding what Akpolat has experienced.

"The President knows the prison and courthouse corridors best when it comes to this persecution, discrediting, and the trampling of law and justice that I am talking about," said İmamoğlu, drawing attention to the trial that AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan faced in the 90s.

İmamoğlu said the following:

"You know, the President was tried in the 90s. He always complains about those days, but he was tried during that time he calls 'bad' for an even more serious crime. Yet, the process was managed in high-authority courts like the State Security Courts (DGM) at that time. Despite that, the President went to and from the hearings freely. It was as it should have been. A verdict was reached against him, and he still walked out of there freely. Later, time passed, he appealed, and he continued his duty for another full 2 years. He received a sentence, served 4 months in prison, and the subsequent process is known to us all.

I am not talking about the decision the judiciary made that day; when you look at the way the trial was conducted and how he went to court, no one raided his house at the crack of dawn to take him away. If we are searching for justice by looking at 30 years ago, we are in a very bad state. Talking about the rest is pointless. This is the issue we have been explaining from the beginning.

It has been over 80 days, and the indictment for Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who was abruptly thrown into prison, has still not been written. I don't know of another period in Türkiye where the judiciary has been used like a weapon.

It is inconceivable for a person to deceive themselves by watching this and saying, 'Nothing will happen to me.' Let no one think, 'This isn't happening to me.' Even those who seem like supporters or stand by them today, a moment comes when you conflict with their interests, and they will overturn you overnight, and one morning they will knock on your door.

If there is anyone who has committed a fault or caused public loss, they must be held accountable; they are obligated to. But there is a proper way to conduct a trial."

"EVERYONE WHO COMMITS THESE EVILS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE"

Stating that the legal struggle for Akpolat will continue, İmamoğlu ended his remarks as follows:

"We will continue to fight against this type of practice. While we do our work on one hand, appeals are being made for Rıza Akpolat on the other. A fabricated crime is being attributed to a person who has done work for the most important public institutions of this country, but there is no action taken regarding the institutions that do business with the company used by the person he is accused of forming a gang with. If there is anyone who has a fault or error, let them pay the price, but it is our duty to be just. We, however, are searching for justice with a candle. Everyone who commits these evils and violates the rights of others will be held very strictly accountable both in this world and the next."