İmamoğlu's diploma case adjourned to December 25

Suspended Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu appeared in court today in Silivri as part of three separate cases.

In addition to the IMM file and the case publicly known as the "espionage" case, İmamoğlu's diploma case was also among the hearings held today.

In the previous hearing, the Administrative Court had rejected the appeal against the decision regarding the cancellation of İmamoğlu's diploma.

According to Cumhuriyet, the developments in the diploma case are as follows:

12.40 | DIPLOMA CASE ADJOURNED TO DECEMBER 25

The judge stated, "Since it will take a long time for the decision to arrive from the Council of State, let us wait for December."

İmamoğlu replied, "If you think it will take that long, then acquit me so the nation is not kept waiting."

The "diploma" case in which İmamoğlu is being tried has been adjourned to December 25, 2026.

12.25 | İMAMOĞLU'S STATEMENT ON "DENİZ GÖKTAŞ"

Speaking about the arrested comedian Deniz Göktaş, İmamoğlu continued his defense as follows:

"My precious nation; no operation in this country can be read solely by its own headline anymore. We wake up to a last-minute operation every morning in this country. The companies of major producers in this country are being seized all of a sudden. Allegations that could be the subject of competition law are being turned into threats of imprisonment. Trustees are being appointed to companies, and executives are being detained. A few days later, the measures are lifted. People are released, but the message intended to be sent in those few days is delivered. The message is, 'We can come if we want, we can seize it.' Similar scenarios are happening in different sectors every day. People's property, assets, and companies are being usurped. They are trying to reach out to years of hard work through the state. I said it before; the mind that disregards my diploma today will set its sights on your title deed, your company, your property, your assets, and everything you have tomorrow. Whoever targets my right to be elected today will target your right to property tomorrow. And that is exactly what is happening.

We saw the same method in holdings and universities where Turkey's most important media organizations are affiliated. Managements changed overnight. Trustees were appointed overnight. The voice of the screens, the gates of the campuses, and the will of the company were changed overnight. Then some trustees were removed. Holding owners, their relatives, and executives spent months in prison. They never left the headlines. Character assassinations were carried out on TV and in newspapers. Then they were released overnight, and there is no agenda. It just disappeared. Why did these things happen? What kind of thing is this? But a great destruction was left behind. Trust in the law was destroyed. With this mentality, they are reaching out to companies. They are reaching out to the media, to universities, to the art world. People spend months in prison; we are neighbors. I mean, we see them while meeting with lawyers side by side. It is a pity. A female producer was deprived of her freedom for months. What was said, what was done about her. And the message was sent. The message was sent to the artist who speaks, the journalist who does not stay silent, the academic who objects, and the businessperson who stands independently."

"THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STEAL OUR JOY"

"They have no tolerance left even for humor. A young brother of ours named Deniz Göktaş. Honestly, I saw it for the first time when it appeared in the news. They sent his notes. He had also written satires about me; I laughed while reading. He said, 'I am going too. I only took a undershirt with me, I took one thing. I cannot stay long anyway, I will return to my country.' The poor man, the young man returned. They arrested the man. They handcuffed him behind his back and paraded the young man in front of the camera four or five times. Why? To 'get a good shot.' Oh, when did the law enforcement of this country, the judiciary of this country do this? I do not remember. They have been doing this for a year and a half. When did they do this? When did it become like this? When did the judiciary of this country become like this? And they arrested the young man. They arrested him and threw him into a well-type cell in Çorlu. Those who stole the nation's will in one fell swoop are now trying to steal its joy by fearing laughter. Can there be such a theft? But they will not be able to steal our joy.

They turned the courthouse corridors into tabloid corridors. The names changed, the headlines changed, the file numbers changed, but the method did not change. 'Effective repentants'—a prisoner friend of ours calls them 'effective little repentants.' People who are pre-judged in the eyes of the public. Through statements.

They want to spread fear in this country, my people! They tell people, 'Do not speak.' They tell people and companies, 'Obey.' They tell artists, 'Be silent.' They tell journalists, 'Do not write.' They tell academics, 'Do not think.' They tell the comedian, 'Do not make people laugh.' They tell the artist, 'Do not speak.' And they impose on the nation to live in fear and anxiety. Yet, with what upbringing were we raised? 'He who remains silent against injustice is a mute devil.' Is that not so? It is easy to say this, but they instill fear in their nation. What does our National Anthem say? 'Fear not!' It starts with 'Fear not.' Why did Mehmet Akif start with 'Fear not'? Why did he write 'Fear not' in the most difficult conditions? I am not afraid. I think 86 million citizens will not be afraid either; that is what I feel."

12.20 | İMAMOĞLU: "ALL MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT WHERE WE FILED OUR APPEAL HAVE ALSO CHANGED"

Ekrem İmamoğlu continues his defense:

“The issue discussed here is not a diploma. We are talking about the issue of the guarantee of a document issued by a state, a title recognized by a state, and a right established by a state. If a process that was announced openly in accordance with the procedure 35 years ago, which bears the signatures of 3 faculty members and passed their review, can be eliminated in one fell swoop on the grounds of non-existence today, then no right, no title, and no decision is final in this country. Cannot the position and authority you hold also be taken back one day if someone feels like it? I swear they can. I swear they can, I swear by God. It is my right to ask this question. Because the logic applied to me can be applied to everyone tomorrow, and they are already applying it. Because the logic applied to me, because the logic applied to me now gives them pleasure. They are applying it. The coup of March 19 is a part of that application, the coup carried out against the Republican People's Party on May 21, and the nonsense of nullity are all parts of the same holistic operations. That is why everything is possible now.

However, there is a concept called acquired rights, and this concept exists for everyone or for no one. In the case we filed for the cancellation of my diploma, which is being heard at the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court, the lawyer for the defendant, Istanbul University, actually summarized both the administrative case and the criminal case at hand in a single sentence. By the way, let us remind you; all the members of this court that evaluated our appeal against the diploma cancellation have also changed, I mean, let me say this, this court has also changed. All the members of the administrative court where we filed our appeal have changed. That is, all the members of the 5th Administrative Court where we filed our first appeal have changed, and a panel appeared before us. The court was held here, a new panel. They supposedly listened to us with great attention. They supposedly listened to us with great attention. And in the presence of that panel, the lawyers of Istanbul University came out and said exactly this, two lawyers said exactly this: 'We are not talking about an action taken by the esteemed plaintiff.' That is, they stated that they did not find any wrong action of mine in the transition. They stated that they did not find any irregular action of mine. They said exactly this: 'We are not talking about an action taken by the esteemed plaintiff, that is, Ekrem İmamoğlu.'

That was the only correct sentence of the defense. Now I ask: Then why was my diploma cancelled? There is no action, no intent, no fraud, but there is no diploma either! And then I am accused of forgery of an official document, and that is why we are here. I swear the Turkish people are watching, the nation is watching, and they are following it carefully. A process is being carried out that truly mocks human intelligence. Let me refresh your memory again. On March 24, 2020, an application was made to Istanbul University via CİMER. Do you know what Istanbul University answered? 'Ekrem İmamoğlu enrolled by fulfilling the admission requirements. There is no problem.' If everything is in accordance with the procedure and there is no illegal action, why am I in the defendant's chair? If Istanbul University gives the answer, 'He met the admission requirements, the enrollment process is in accordance with the procedure, there is no illegal situation,' if there is such a simple, such a clear statement, why is Ekrem İmamoğlu in the defendant's chair? Because at that time, dirty hands had not yet touched it. The prosecutor's office, which received the instruction, had not yet written a letter saying, 'Cancel it immediately.' The university gave the answer with its own will."

İMAMOĞLU: "THERE IS A TRANSFER INFORMATION NOTE DATED OCTOBER 7, 2024, WHEN THIS LAST RECTOR WAS IN OFFICE..."

Saying, "Will Istanbul University only be the implementer of this conspiracy, or will it also be held accountable for this process? It will," İmamoğlu used the following expressions:

"Look, there is a transfer information note dated October 7, 2024, when this last rector was in office. In this information note, it says: 'In the 1982 transfer regulation, there is no condition such as the recognition of the university abroad by YÖK,' it says. 'Until '96, there was no such recognition and equivalence regulation either,' it says. It means: 'There is no requirement for Ekrem İmamoğlu to meet such a condition. We accepted and took him,' it says. That is why it states that no problem is seen. It explains that the recognition decisions taken by YÖK later cannot be applied in this case. Let me summarize in one sentence; in the information note bearing the signature of Istanbul University's own rector, bearing the signature of this current rector, it says, 'Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma is in accordance with the law.'

Is it over? No. The YÖK Audit Board, February 17, 2025, two months before the operation... In its report, it is said: 'Ekrem İmamoğlu studied for 2 years at the university where he received his education, successfully completed all his courses, met the grade point average requirement, and fulfilled all the conditions required by the regulation in force.' The summary of this is also very clear. We did the procedures required for the transfer, all the conditions. What does the Istanbul University lawyer say? 'There is no irregular action taken by Ekrem İmamoğlu,' he says. Istanbul University says 'There is no irregularity' in CİMER, the Rector says 'It is in accordance with the law,' the YÖK Audit Board says 'He meets all the conditions'; what are we judging here? But a dirty hand, with fear; I say promotion, position, status, interest, they come into play with their methods. They come into play with the instruction of position, status, and interest, and we are experiencing these events. This country has official records; it has its university, its archive, its state institutions. They disregard all of them and then turn to me and say, 'Explain this' in this chair. Of course, I will not explain. I am not the one who needs to explain. The one who needs to explain is this pathetic mentality that denies and disregards its own records.

Of course, I want to say this; if you cannot conduct this case with your own free will and conscience, if a phone call, an instruction, or a fear tears you away from that title you sit in this chair with, then the thing that should be cancelled is not my diploma, but the trust in this profession. If one day another court, another panel takes this decision in its hand 35 years later and looks at it, saying 'It is not in accordance with the procedure,' would you ask yourselves the questions you are asking today, 'How did this happen?' This situation makes you experience a shameful paradox. I am just saying this to remind you.

What is the end of these diplomas, these cancellations? It is a stage of attempts to disregard the nation's will. The problem is to create the habit of disregarding the nation's will by hiding behind legal concepts. Yes, this is a very real threat and the biggest survival problem. They made the first attempt 7 years ago, they cancelled the election on May 6, they cancelled the election we won on May 6, 2019, the nation did what was necessary. They continue to stage a coup against the sacred will of the nation with the March 19 and May 21 coups."

12.10 | İMAMOĞLU: "LEAVE ASIDE TELLING THEIR CHILDREN IN THE FUTURE, HOW WILL THEY EXPLAIN IT TOMORROW?"

Saying, "You are judging the 18-year-old Ekrem here, Mr. Judge," İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"What kind of trick did the 18-year-old Ekrem do, what kind of forgery did he commit? Oh my God! More importantly, a very dangerous mentality is being revealed regarding the fact that they can bend and twist the law to the point of disregarding a document given by the state itself 36 years later. This case is a case of disregarding and cancelling the diploma I earned with my own right by studying for 4 years, and that too during the most meaningful periods of my life, that is... Let everyone turn back and look; 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22... It is a case of destroying the labor and effort of those years in one fell swoop.

With the ambition for power and the seat, this cowardly mentality... They used all the power of the state, all the power! With the instruction of the prosecutor's office, they went one day before the operation, they found the secretary general of my university in Cyprus, they sent the gendarmerie to his house one day before. The poor man must have been scared, they took a gentleman in his 70s. Why? Because they are going to carry out an operation on me one day later, they need to complete the process. Let them talk about something in a hurry. The man must have been in shock. They would accept whatever they said to the man. I mean, even if they said, 'Say you gave 5 million Euros to Ekrem,' he would sign under it. One of them did! It is a pity! It is shameful! It is shameful, I mean, I am laughing at these. It is shameful. They attacked Ekrem. How old is Ekrem? 17 years old. They attacked the 17-year-old Ekrem. Shame on them! These absurd cases that I and many of my friends, hundreds of people, have been dealing with for months... Many of my friends have also been subjected to this.

By the way, let me say; the diplomas of 28 friends of mine like me were cancelled, but this criminal case was only filed against me. It was not filed against any of them. Why? They are in a hurry regarding Ekrem. Is this in the history of law? The diplomas of 28 people including me were cancelled retroactively, but this case was only filed against Ekrem. The investigation and operation were only carried out against Ekrem. They are all pathetic instructions given from a single center, shameful! And this is what happens when a person gets into things bigger than their height, they become unable to get out of it. Have you ever thought about what the people of this country will say when they look back years later? 'We cancelled his transfer 31 years later, we cancelled his diploma given 36 years later,' that is, 'we invented allegations of forgery.' How will they explain this? I wonder how the people listening to this here will explain it. Leave aside telling their children in the future, how will they explain it tomorrow?

İMAMOĞLU: "I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON MY STRUGGLE AGAINST THEM FOR A MOMENT"

Ekrem İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"Uh... I am not saying these to satisfy the court. We are in the 5th session. I already explained these during 4 sessions. I do not have such an expectation either, let me say that. I am speaking to the nation. It is very clear. Since I have gone through very different processes, the nation is my interlocutor. I am explaining to my dear nation. I am explaining these right now to a 7-year-old child in the Cevizli village of Akçaabat, Trabzon. I am explaining to a citizen of ours in Hakkari. I am explaining to a daughter of ours in Edirne. I am explaining to an aunt of ours in Balıkesir right now. I am explaining to the mother and father who cannot send their daughter or son to school.

My friends did a research; regarding university girls, the rate of people who are trying to study at a university in Istanbul by living on 5,000 liras a month is 15-20 percent. 5 thousand liras! I mean, they have a dormitory, one or two scholarships, and they can get 5 thousand liras from their family. 10 thousand liras, 12 thousand liras... How will they live in Istanbul? I am explaining this to them. Therefore, I delivered the documents, I submitted them all to the file; I am not explaining these to you. I am not explaining the indictment, which is a document of shame, and the Turkish judiciary, which is being wasted, I am explaining to my nation. Everyone involved in this conspiracy will be the perpetrator of this judicial murder, and those perpetrators will be held accountable when the day comes, everyone! One by one. I will not give up on my struggle against them for a moment. From every day I speak here, I say this with a stronger will in my next word.

This struggle of mine is not a personal struggle, it is a struggle for the rights and freedoms of the youth of this country. I know that every day they cannot convince me, every moment they cannot convince the society, they get a little more tense. I see that they are becoming a little more engulfed in rampant greed and ambition. I know they are working day and night to 'invent one more excuse.' I see what kind of vile decisions they make to 'add one more accusation, to make family members suffer, to torture them.' Is this a search for truth? Never.

I have a brother-in-law forgotten in prison, do you know—they forgot him in prison. They cannot even conduct his trial right now. They invented it, they threw the man in prison! They threw the man in prison with a statement! What was it? He used drugs and supplied drugs. His tests came back negative, this time they made the man a drug dealer, do you know? Then they made him a dealer, they said: 'The subject is Bodrum's,' they sent the court there. The Bodrum Court said, 'Oh no, oh no,' 'we cannot look at these,' they sent it to Bakırköy. That one said: 'I cannot look at it either,' he said. Now it is at the Court of Cassation, the man is lying in prison! They are attacking the family, the family! These are shameful, shameful!

What will he say when he comes out? 'Hey heads of state!' As he used to say in the past: 'Hey America! Hey Europe!' Now he will say: 'Hey heads of state! Whatever you say, that is it. But look, I am doing it this way.' Shameful! There is only one reason; he thinks the seat belongs to him. It does not! It does not belong to you. You are elected with the nation's vote, and when you are not elected, you leave quietly. Therefore, while you are questioning me about my diploma, which was cancelled with the instruction of a man, I am also questioning this, let me say: Who will protect your diploma? Who will protect these decisions you make tomorrow? How valid will the decisions you make be? Do you think they will be permanent?"

12.08 | İMAMOĞLU: "THE CASES FILED BY CONSTRUCTING VARIOUS CONSPIRACY SCENARIOS AGAINST ME ARE NOT MY PERSONAL MATTER"

"Yes, this striking picture... I am here in these NATO days. I hope what I say is not hitting someone in a 'NATO marble, NATO head' position and bouncing back. This nation did not win the rule of law and national will easily. It did not reach the Republic from the War of Independence easily. It did not heal its wounds in one day after all the coups it experienced. This nation suffered a lot until it reached these days. It suffered a lot. There are very valuable elders and friends here. Every generation paid prices to leave a little more law, a little more freedom to this country, and they continue to pay. However, at the point we have reached, unfortunately, we have zero in our hands," said İmamoğlu, and continued his defense:

"We are at a point where our reputation in Europe has hit rock bottom. We are an important part of Europe. We have to be a leading country in Europe. Do you know how leadership happens in Europe? And with other countries of the world... In the Middle East... We must be a leader in the Middle East. In the Far East... We must show our leadership there too. Do you know what it happens with? It happens with democracy, with justice, with creativity, with production, with increasing capacity. It happens by being a source of inspiration for the youth. Then you become a pole star in the Middle East. Then you shed light on Europe. Europe walks arm in arm with you. Is this possible? I swear it is possible. I mean, there is flour, sugar, oil in this country, there is everything. I would sacrifice myself for the people of this country; for its Turk, its Kurd, its Laz, its Circassian... I would sacrifice myself. I know, I have known since my childhood, the beautiful people of this country have never misled me.

However, the stubbornness of one person brought us to the zero point, one person! The insistence of one person on the seat brought us here. The habit of saying, 'This seat belongs to me, I am not giving it to anyone,' brought us here. Therefore, we are the trustees of not only our own generation but of a constitutional and democratic period spanning over 150 years. There is great effort here. While many countries in Europe that say 'I exist' have only been talking about the republic and democracy for 30-40 years, we are in lands that have been fighting for the ballot box for 150 years.

The cases filed by constructing various conspiracy scenarios against Ekrem İmamoğlu are not my personal matter. They are not my personal cases at all. These cases are the manifestation in the judiciary of a war waged against the national will, democracy, the Republic, and the rule of law. It is the destruction of the promise and responsibility the state gives to its citizens. Our struggle is; whether the law will remain independent of political will or not. Whether the ballot box will truly reflect the nation's will or not. It is a matter of whether we can protect democracy, the Republic, the ballot box, and the election or not. Whoever does not look at the issue this way should go to the mirror and face it. The issue is big. The issue is very big.

Today, just when the NATO summit is being discussed, on the days when the eyes of the world are turned to Turkey, the hearing of 3 absurd conspiracy cases is being held in Silivri on July 6. But actually, a hearing is not being held. At the same time, we are witnessing a historic moment where the true face of the mentality at the head of this country, Erdoğan, is being announced to the whole world, a judicial system that has been turned into a puppet of the government, where operations are carried out with instructions every day. Let me add a joke to such a day; there is a lawlessness triathlon in Silivri today.

A person even has difficulty counting how many cases have been filed against them. It is difficult to describe being subjected to these cases at the same time, in the same building, here today. Diploma, espionage... The main one is not named, some call it IMM, some call it İmamoğlu, I now call it the 'Why did you defeat Erdoğan 4 times and can defeat him once more' case. Or the IMM case... Of course, they also did this right next to us, frankly, inside the prisons; they said, 'We are building Europe's largest courtroom.' They spent 1.5 billion. 'Europe's largest...' I could not figure out how to be proud of this. It is very shameful. Europe's largest courtroom... They spent 1.5 billion. A person really has so many files, so many cases against them... Why is such an effort being made regarding me, is it not a pity? There is only one answer: He is very afraid of his rival. Only one answer... I am really having trouble counting."

12.00 | İMAMOĞLU'S "JULY 9" REACTION

Criticizing the decision to complete the first session of the IMM case on July 9, İmamoğlu used the following expressions:

"I mean, I am being tried in the IMM case as a 'criminal organization leader,' so to speak. And they wrote 1 person after me in the order. It was put before us, or rather it was not. I objected to this, I said: 'Please listen to me first, first. I want to speak first,' they did not accept. Then I said, 'I should speak last.' He accepted. The esteemed judge accepted. Later there was an interim defense. I conveyed the same request, he accepted and I made the defense like that. Later, I repeated this in the interim, he accepted again. Finally, last Monday, I said: 'Esteemed judge, the turn is coming to me. As I stated before, it is correct for me to make my defense after everyone here finishes their defense. Because I am being tried for all the actions. Therefore, it is correct for me to answer after listening to everyone.' 'Correct,' he said, 'no problem.' Suddenly, suddenly on Thursday morning, 'The hearings will end on July 9, the first session will end, and I am returning to the first state. The last person will be Mr. Fatih. Before that, I will listen to Mr. Ekrem. Even if there is no time left, let Mr. Fatih be left to August.' Oh my God! July 9, the milestone! What is it? We do not know. We will see!

This, I mean, we are also experiencing this lawlessness. Frankly, it restricted the time of the remaining defendants. Even the lawyer of one of our friends had his right cut off before he could make a quarter of his defense. I hope he corrects it today. I hope, I hope. I mean, I hope he corrects it both on behalf of the Turkish judiciary, on his own behalf, and on behalf of our supreme nation. That is my wish. I hope he accepts that day as if it never happened and gives an opportunity for this process to be completed as it has been completed until today with ease. Now, of course, after I used my right to object, he removed me from the hall. He also removed other lawyers, including my lawyer, from the hall. In fact, we seem to be in a penalized state right now, as I understand it. Because he continued the decision not to let my lawyer into the hall this morning."

İMAMOĞLU: "IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO ACCEPT THIS HASTE, THIS HURRY"

"Now did they take it back? Ha, okay. Then our prayers sometimes come true. I hope he corrects his other decisions too. My wish is not on my behalf. I swear it is not on my behalf. Believe me, every good step, every good step in the presence of this sacred country, homeland, Turkish judiciary, every good step makes me very happy. I mean, it increases my embarrassment. When I say embarrassment, I am happy, I am glad because it creates the infrastructure of goodness. He would have done his duty. I hope, I hope.

Of course, forcing a person to make a defense in three separate courts has no side that can be explained in law, in conscience, or in humanity. There is no meaning to this haste and this insistence when we are at the end of a case that has been going on for about 4 months. There is no meaning to saying 'I will finish it on July 9.' There really is not. I have been listening for 5, 4 days now. I also warned them. I said: 'Look, this court, these processes present here, including this court, concern Turkey, concern the world, concern democracy.' If you say, 'Oh, what do we care, one person concerns us,' you are mistaken. That one person is not very important, 86 million are important. That one person can watch what is happening with pleasure, but 86 million are not watching with pleasure. The economy is crashing, the nation is not investing in this country, people are not investing in this country... Even the people of this person, of this country are fleeing abroad. They are breaking records. I mean, Turkish companies investing abroad have exceeded 60 billion dollars, 60 billion dollars. They are fleeing from this country. And I mean, it had reached 20-30 billion dollars in the early 2000s, again when this government was established, the annual investment made in this country. Now 100 million dollars do not come to this country per year. It is shameful. It will not come. Therefore, do not think this business only concerns that one person, do not think it only concerns this country. It concerns the world. This business is a matter of democracy.

In that respect, it is not possible for me to accept this haste, this hurry. It is not about squeezing me into hours, on the contrary, this sacred, our sacred justice, the foundation of property, the justice that is the foundation of the state, should not interrupt the word of a defendant, of a person who has to express himself. I am very sorry that I cannot see an independent and impartial court that intends to listen to what I will tell within these walls, and that I cannot experience this, in a period when the independence and impartiality of the judiciary have been overshadowed. From now on, I am making my entire defense to my dear nation. And my face, my soul, my heart, and my tongue are turned to my nation. I believe that 86 million people hear me."

11.56 | İMAMOĞLU: "ALL OF THE PROSECUTORS WHO PREPARED THE INDICTMENT AGAINST ME WERE REWARDED"

Saying, "All of the prosecutors who prepared the indictment against me were rewarded," İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"A minister changed, and then the justice mechanism was made to evolve into a completely different place. I do not know if it exists in history? For example, during the same government period, one minister leaves, another minister of justice comes, all the staff changes, all the staff. Oh my God! I mean, for example, if the AK Party leaves, if the CHP comes or the IYI Party Deputy Chairman is also here, if the IYI Party comes, it would be normal for the staff in a ministry to change, for the managers to change. Now a minister came, all the staff changed, from A to Z. What kind of thing is this? What kind of organization is this? What is it organizing for? What kind of organization is it? I am very curious. Courts are no longer formed by their natural flow, but unfortunately by order. And without hesitation, without refraining, without being held accountable... The system has already turned into an authoritarian system. I mean, the HSK is appointed by the government with all its staff. A minister comes to its head, a political structure. And there, someone can change weekly, even instantly, I mean, even from the dialogue here. It can change 1 hour later, 2 hours later.

I mean, including the one who wrote this fake, this absurd indictment, all of them were rewarded. 18 judges who chose to remain loyal to the law—I think so, because I have not seen the results of many of them—changed. 18 judges changed in my courts, including the esteemed judge of this court. I mean, the esteemed judge in front of me is a judge appointed later. Of course, I have no idea about the one who left, nor do I have any idea about the one who came. I have no idea about the one who left because he had not made a decision, and I have no idea about the one who came, we will see his decision. Therefore, this displacement, this exile... This exile displacement, now I look, it reflected in the prisons, sometimes I look, it reflects in the law enforcement forces. I watch these with sadness, I mean. A strange situation. These also motivate me, by the way.

Why am I saying these? Because I have high respect for every staff of every state. I mean, whether it is the prosecution, the judiciary, the law enforcement, or whoever it is, representing the state here, I have a state discipline that respects them highly regardless of which body is inside. I am such a child, I am a child of this homeland. I grew up with state discipline. I look at it with high respect. Until when? Until they show their personality. After that, I also have the determination to fight with them forever, let me say that too. No one's footprints disappear, everyone's footprints are clear. Therefore, we are in such a situation. Judges changed, panels changed, courts changed. The only thing that did not change is the will to definitely convict Ekrem İmamoğlu. 'We will convict Ekrem İmamoğlu.' The only thing that did not change. Uh, if it will not harm you, I will ask for water."

Upon Ekrem İmamoğlu asking for water, the judge replied, "Of course, you can drink."

11.50 | İMAMOĞLU: "IF YOU SAW THE REPORT, YOU WOULD CRY..."

"My two esteemed Chairmen are here. Of course, I respectfully greet Mr. Özgür Özel. I kiss the hands of our elder Mr. Karayalçın with respect," said İmamoğlu, and continued his defense:

"A case was filed against me for an official vehicle. I am forced to explain it for the first time. Yes, I have used my own vehicle as an official vehicle for 12 years, and I am being tried. I mean, I did not use the municipality's car, neither in Beylikdüzü nor in the Metropolitan Municipality. Yes, I am explaining, I also bought the gasoline for my official vehicle, I had the maintenance done, I had the tires changed. I mean, I used my own car as an official vehicle for 12 years, and a case was filed against me. Do you know why? When they said what is wrong with the official vehicle in Beylikdüzü, they brought a minibus. It has an exorbitant price, a monthly rent. I have the same one. I mean, today's money is 300-400 thousand liras monthly rent. I said it is a pity, it is a sin, I have my own car, let me use my car. They said no, I mean, the company's car is the municipality's.

Well, make a protocol, they made a protocol. The protocol is only that Ekrem İmamoğlu allocates his own vehicle to the municipality. And he covers the expenses himself. But very interestingly, there was such a mishap, they bought gasoline for my car twice from the municipality's account, and they bought tires once. This was detected later. In 2022, the Minister of Interior of that period sent inspectors to Beylikdüzü Municipality for 2 months, 3 months, saying 'Find something about Ekrem.' They filed a case against me over the money they found here. But essentially, when my friends learned this, my company deposited the 400-odd thousand liras with interest to the municipality, to Beylikdüzü Municipality, last year, in 2025. Despite that, they filed a case. I have a hearing in September.

Yes, on my own behalf, I did not allocate a car from the municipality to my family, my wife, my daughter, my son, or myself as an official vehicle. I used my own car. My family's driver drove for my family. I used my own car, I covered my own expenses. A case was filed because of this. And even further, recently, such an attack was made on my construction site, my construction sites, that they arrested 8 municipal officials from my family construction site, do you know? Currently, 12 people are arrested. They arrested the engineer of my family's company. Do you know why? There is no illegal floor, there is no large building built, there is no illegal building. And this pro-government impolite media put a headline saying 2.2 billion rent. And 6 poor civil servants are in prison. Two days after four of them were arrested, their child will take the university exam. Do you know what it is? Sir, when it was built 3 years ago, the room in the attic was increased to 4.40 instead of 3.90 in the roof. The door to the balcony was from here and it was opened from here too. A shade was made on the facade of the building. If you saw the report, you would cry.

And for a part of this, it is also written in the report itself. It says: 'It also imposed an exorbitant fine,' it says, 'Beylikdüzü Municipality to Ekrem İmamoğlu.' But it says 'Never mind, my company corrected these with a renovation license.' They corrected it, these are works that finished 4 years ago, 3 years ago. 12 people are ar-rest-ed from here! They have been arrested for about 1 month. There is no building with one floor more, there is no building 1 meter larger. 7-8 civil servants are arrested. The architect who drew a project close to the government is free, the architect who drew another project of mine who is not close to the government is also arrested. Disgrace! We are experiencing these. Disgrace! I am explaining this disgrace for this, the subject of this case is also a disgrace. This is a complete disgrace. Because this, in this country, the independence of the judiciary has truly been destroyed. It is as if there is nothing left called judicial independence."

11.37 | İMAMOĞLU: I HAVE USED MY OWN VEHICLE AS AN OFFICIAL VEHICLE FOR 12 YEARS

Saying that many cases have been filed against him, and one of them is about the official vehicle, İmamoğlu said, "I have used my own vehicle as an official vehicle for 12 years. And I am being tried! I mean, I did not use the municipality's car, neither in Beylikdüzü nor in the Metropolitan Municipality. I also bought the gasoline, I had the maintenance done, I had the tires changed. I used my own car for 12 years, and a case was filed against me."

İmamoğlu spoke as follows:

"There are very interesting cases among the 15 cases. For example, the 'fool' case. Now, if we went to any country in the world and explained this here, even if it took hours, we could not explain it. We cannot explain the fool case, the espionage case. And we cannot explain the diploma case in the courtroom we are in. We cannot explain the congress case at all. I mean, it is really not possible to understand it either. I mean, I am also the interlocutor of that. I participated once via SEGBİS. There are very interesting cases. Recently, a case of insulting a mayor. I am acquitted twice, the judge says you will insistently bring him. While I was going, we went 60 kilometers, the car broke down. It was said that there is an instruction from the prosecutor's office and we are asked to return.

After going 60 kilometers, we came back 60 kilometers with a broken car. Whereas we had the possibility of being at the Anatolian Courthouse after 50 kilometers. We are dealing with such things. 'What is happening Ekrem, I mean, are you bored?' Of course, I am sad, I am angry. But what kind of thing is it? Anger, rage turns into a strange motivation one day later. I mean, it is indescribable. I am even surprised at the texts I wrote, I mean, how did these come out of my mind at that moment. I mean, even the emotions and thoughts I convey to the society show such a leap, I mean, it foams by itself. There is something very interesting here. This is also a new case. There is a Beylikdüzü official vehicle case. One official vehicle case was filed against me."

11.35 | İMAMOĞLU: "COURTS ARE FORMED BY ORDER"

Ekrem İmamoğlu said that all staff were changed after Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek took office and said, "Courts are formed by order. 18 judges who chose to remain loyal to the law changed. Including the esteemed judge of this court. The judge in front of me is a judge who came later."

11.20 | İMAMOĞLU STARTED HIS DEFENSE: ALL MY CASES CAN BE CALLED İMAMOĞLU CASES

Ekrem İmamoğlu reached out to his wife Dilek İmamoğlu and kissed her hand.

He thanked the foreign delegation following the hearing by saying, "Thank you for your support." He addressed Özgür Özel by saying, "Welcome, my chairman," and started his defense.

Saying, "I am addressing my dear nation," İmamoğlu stated that he stopped by another hall this morning and that he is facing 3 cases just today. İmamoğlu also said, "All my cases can be called İmamoğlu Cases, they can also be called democracy struggle cases, I have over 20 cases."

İmamoğlu said the following in his defense:

"Yes, I am addressing my dear nation from here: First of all, I am starting my words by underlining that I am fighting for democracy and, in addition to democracy, I am also fighting for justice and the Republic with determination. We are really having a very interesting day here, in this environment, in this building today. I stopped by another courtroom this morning for a short while, I came to this hall from there. Because I am facing three hearings in the same building. Of course, I am here to explain to the conscience of our nation that there is a legal order that is being dismantled step by step, a judiciary that has been taken over, and a justice system that is wanted to be surrendered to the will of a handful of political ambitious people, unfortunately, while it should be deciding on behalf of the nation. All my hearings can be interpreted as a whole. They can all be called 'İmamoğlu cases,' they can also be called 'democracy struggle cases.'

I am the interlocutor of 20, maybe over 20 cases that were invented, even fabricated in 1.5 years. My friends extracted only the criminal cases, my cases described as criminal cases became 15. But as I said, when we add the case running with my application regarding the diploma, its cancellation, and others, I estimate that it has exceeded 20. I mean, the sentence 'I estimate' can also be interpreted as a definite conviction by these courts or by the prosecution; because I am facing an allegation with convictions repeated thousands of times in the form of 'I estimate,' 'I had heard' in the 4000-page IMM case again in this building, in another courtroom. How can a person be subjected to such a thing? How can one be under such a downpour? It is very interesting. Is there an example of this in the world? Frankly, I do not know, I think there probably is not."

After these processes, saying "my health and morale are very good," İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"I mean, I am very, very good. Thank God. Let me express that my determination is increasing day by day. I mean, even the adventures in my coming here this morning strengthen me. I mean, struggling to take a spare undershirt and a spare shirt with me when leaving prison also keeps me alive. Struggling for an hour to take them also keeps me alive. And after coming here, struggling for the opportunity to have a 5-minute meeting on my feet while saying 'let me have a 10-minute meeting with my lawyer' also keeps me very alive. Thank God. I guess I was born like that, I came to the world like that, I do not know what kind of genetics it is. Maybe from the region I was born in, maybe from my mother, my father, from what I fed on in life, I am in such a world, such a life."

11.15 | "PRESIDENT İMAMOĞLU" SLOGANS

Ekrem İmamoğlu and the court panel took their places, the hearing is starting. İmamoğlu was greeted with "President İmamoğlu" slogans as he entered the hall.

11.00 | İMAMOĞLU IS IN THE HALL WHERE THE DIPLOMA CASE WILL BE HEARD

Ekrem İmamoğlu first came to courtroom number 4 in Silivri for the "espionage" case.

İmamoğlu's campaign director Necati Özkan, Tele 1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ, and Hüseyin Gün were also brought to the hall.

With the arrival of the Court Panel, the hearing began. Before moving on to the defenses, İmamoğlu's lawyer Hasan Fehmi Demir took the floor.

Demir said, "Mr. Ekrem has 2 more cases. The hours overlapped," and conveyed İmamoğlu's request to primarily attend the "diploma" case to be heard in the other hall.

The Presiding Judge accepted the request. İmamoğlu left the courtroom and moved to the hall where the "diploma" case will be heard.