İmamoğlu reacts to indictment: 'Where has the manliness gone?'

An indictment has been prepared against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, based on statements he made regarding Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. The indictment, prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, demands a prison sentence for İmamoğlu ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 7 years and 4 months. 

Reacting to the decision, İmamoğlu answered journalists' questions at the February 6 commemoration he attended at the AKOM Headquarters. Addressing President Erdoğan, İmamoğlu said, "Where has the manliness gone? Where has the Kasımpaşa spirit gone?" 

The IMM Mayor said the following: 

'THEY ARE TRYING TO CRIPPLE US BEFORE WE EVEN STEP ONTO THE FIELD'

"Just as the coming of Thursday is clear from Wednesday, the gentleman who understands whose turn it is, instead of competing in a democratic race bravely in front of the nation, they are trying to cripple us before we even step onto the field. Just as he used the term 'lame duck' after we won the first election, today, saying 'the biggest radish is in the bag,' they are trying to cripple us by acting as the prosecutor of the process. Where was your manliness? A manly person fights bravely, fights their fight bravely, bravely. We have declared our struggle, we are declaring it, and we do not hesitate to declare it. In that respect, our nation loves manly attitudes and behaviors, they love manliness. Where is the manliness? Where has the Kasımpaşa spirit, which we all proudly mention, gone?

Unfortunately, in the history of the Republic of Turkey, we are experiencing for the first time, so deeply and in such a tragicomic way, environments where politics keeps the judiciary under pressure and such an unimaginable level of judicial harassment is taking place. And I am truly deeply saddened that these mistakes, these wrongs, and incorrect legal practices made in the name of the judiciary in Turkey's most important city are occupying our agenda in these difficult times for our country, when economic conditions are making our people suffer, when certain international issues around us need to be handled in the deepest way, and when our national unity and solidarity need to be built at the highest level. I would like to share with our citizens that I experience the sadness of encountering another shameful event every day, every morning, every evening. I would like to state that the owner of the case against me is not the deputy chief prosecutor who signed it, nor is it the chief prosecutor. It is not the chief prosecutor, nor is it the deputy chief prosecutor. The plaintiff is the Honorable President, Mr. Erdoğan. His signature is under all my cases. He is so angry that the prison sentence he has requested for me so far is exactly 17 years. At the same time, he is also requesting a political ban on me for the third time.

'WHO PREPARED THE INDICTMENT?'

When you look at it, his case is actually not me. He is not suing me; in my view, he is suing the nation. He is suing the will of the nation and thinks he will design politics with fear. He thinks he will design it with threats. However, only and only the nation can design politics because the existence of democracy in this country with the authority of the nation is a matter that has been established with great struggle for nearly a century. Where is the place where this nation's will exists? It is the ballot box. Elections come, ballot boxes are set up, and our citizens cast their votes and choose and bring whoever they want to the position they want. We are unfortunately watching with sadness this mindset that tries to design politics through the courthouse instead of the ballot box. And especially in the environment we are living in today, when we ask who the so-called victim of this latest issue is, it is the chief prosecutor. Who prepared the indictment? His deputy, I repeat, who is the so-called victim of the latest issue? The chief prosecutor. Who prepared the indictment? The chief prosecutor's deputy. However, unless there is an extraordinary situation, normally the Prosecutor who took my statement should have prepared my indictment and his signature should have been under it.

'THEY ARE EXPERIENCING A GREAT PANIC'

Another step has been taken in a way that ignores the traditions of the honorable and dignified Turkish judiciary. And since when do deputy chief prosecutors with administrative duties take such a move regarding preparing an indictment? I cannot help but ask. Did the Prosecutor, whom I said welcomed me with courtesy, refrain from preparing this indictment? And did he transfer this job to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor? As far as I have learned from my lawyers, many Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights decisions have been emphasized in the indictment. The Deputy Chief Prosecutor is clearly a witty young man. While the inventor of not recognizing Constitutional Court decisions in this country is the person he represents by proxy, he has had the audacity to write these examples here. This is now clear. There are those who act with the aim of designing politics in this political process. But this task is not as easy as they think. Let them know that the first person to leave them alone on this path will be the local and national Machiavelli. The local Machiavelli will flatter you today, and tomorrow his interests will change, and he will abandon you at that moment. You are younger than me. You have no political experience at all. This is a piece of brotherly advice from me to you. Unfortunately, people who have come to these honorable positions will experience this experience in the near future on the adventurous journey they have embarked on, I have no doubt.

'THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEFEAT THE NATION'S DETERMINATION!'

They have been experiencing a great panic for a while. We all see together that they are becoming aggressive with panic. And I listen to the rumors of this aggression in the courthouse corridors every day, and dozens of pieces of information flow to me from there every day. Especially the revelation of the deeds of the expert witness Mr. Satılmış and the documentation of how expert reports without validity are accepted by prosecutors have increased this panic in those corridors even more. I am telling you from here. We will never let you forget that Mr. Satılmış because you created this judicial absurdity. The account of those transactions will one day be asked before the law. Now I want to address my nation from here. There is never despair. There is no sadness at all. Most importantly, we do not have a shred, not a shred, not even a drop of fear. We set out on the path of right and justice with a great nation. There is no turning back from this path now. No matter what plan they make, no matter what desk-bound setup they prepare, they will not be able to defeat this brave nation, the determination of this brave nation. Let them not try to defeat the nation, they will not be able to defeat it.

I say it everywhere, I continue to say it. We have youth, and our excitement is high. Just as we set out, we continue on our way with the same excitement. We won for the second time by saying everything will be very beautiful. We won for the third time with our nation by saying full speed ahead in service. Moreover, we all saw together that we won by competing against a President and 17 ministers in Istanbul and that the will of the nation manifested."