İmamoğlu’s ‘Silivri’ message to Erdoğan: You were tried on charges similar to those directed at me, but you were not imprisoned for even a single day

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu addressed the citizens filling Silivri Atatürk Square from his cell. İmamoğlu addressed President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying, “When you were the Mayor of Istanbul, you were tried on charges similar to those directed at me today, but you were not imprisoned for even a single day.

In the case where you received a prison sentence, you were also tried without arrest. Why do the rules that applied when you were being tried not apply when I am being tried? Are you afraid that if I am tried without arrest, I will be on the streets and in the squares, looking my nation in the eye and telling them the truth? Why are you afraid of me being tried without arrest? This nation knows very well that you are the true prosecutor of the cases in Silivri.”

Beginning his message with the words, “The clean-hearted, brave people of beautiful Silivri, my dear fellow citizens, my precious neighbors; you know, we have done a lot for Silivri in 6 years,” İmamoğlu said the following:

“We stood by our low-income fellow citizens and our farmers. With major investments and brand-new services, we improved and beautified every aspect of life in Silivri. While we were focused on protecting Silivri’s natural and historical values and developing its agricultural and tourism opportunities, the government was busy filling the Silivri dungeon. One-man regimes that fail to succeed in the economy, in execution, and in increasing the welfare of the citizens always do this; they strive to suppress the citizens and eliminate their political rivals. Those who cause beautiful Silivri to be associated with a dungeon are those who ignore the national will and want to regulate politics through the judiciary. They are trying to make the country a dungeon for everyone who speaks the truth, seeks their rights, and demands freedom and justice. They only tolerate an opposition that does not step outside the boundaries they have drawn and will never win an election. This government, which grants no freedom to anyone but itself and has lost its sense of justice, cannot bring peace and tranquility to Turkey. It cannot bring prosperity and happiness.”

"I SET OUT PREPARED TO PAY ANY PRICE"

“We set out for a just Turkey where everyone feels free, but no one’s freedom harms another. Our path is the path of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who said, ‘Freedom and independence are my character. The basis of freedom, equality, and justice is national sovereignty.’ This is a very honorable and arduous path. I set out on this path prepared to pay any price.

For years, I have been struggling against all kinds of conspiracies and slanders. I am not afraid of being investigated or tried, and I will not be discouraged. But there is someone who is terrified even by the prospect of me being tried without arrest. I ask Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: When you were the Mayor of Istanbul, you were tried on charges similar to those directed at me today, but you were not imprisoned for even a single day.

In the case where you received a prison sentence, you were also tried without arrest. Why do the rules that applied when you were being tried not apply when I am being tried? Are you afraid that if I am tried without arrest, I will be on the streets and in the squares, looking my nation in the eye and telling them the truth? Why are you afraid of me being tried without arrest? You cannot fool anyone by saying, ‘I am not the one making the arrest decision, the judge is.’ This nation knows very well how you try to rule over the judiciary and the pressure you exert on the courts. This nation knows very well that you are the true prosecutor of the cases in Silivri.”

"GOVERNMENTS COME AND GO, THE NATION REMAINS"

“My dear friends, my brothers and sisters; a government that has lost its justice is like a building without a foundation; it will surely collapse. We will definitely build a just Turkey where not even one person is in prison unjustly, where even those who have committed the most serious crimes are tried fairly, and where no criminal goes unpunished.

We will establish justice for everyone everywhere, not just in courthouses, but on the streets, in the markets, in workplaces, in schools, and in hospitals. We will establish justice in income, taxes, opportunities, and possibilities.

With the peace of living in a free and fair country, we will bond more with each other and become a much stronger country together. Trust yourselves. You are the owners of this country. Governments come and go, the nation remains. The nation is great. It is not Silivri that is warmed by the love of the nation, but the palaces frozen by the sighs of the nation that are cold. Stay well. Ekrem İmamoğlu.”