Another reaction to the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office's ban on İmamoğlu from Portakal: 'What kind of cruelty is this?'

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, in an instruction sent to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, has banned the use of photographs, videos, and audio recordings of Ekrem İmamoğlu and several other mayors on subways, metrobus lines, buses, and ferries. This decision has triggered public debate.

SHARP REACTION FROM FATİH PORTAKAL

SÖZCÜ TV Main News anchor Fatih Portakal voiced his criticisms regarding the prosecutor's office's decision.

Portakal stated, "There is an allegation. In this legal system, one must say this, of course. Detentions were made within such a system.

There is no indictment yet. They are not guilty yet, but the prosecutor's office is already saying, 'You will remove the photos of İmamoğlu and the mayors of Beylikdüzü, Şişli, etc. You will also mute their voices.' Where is the presumption of innocence? What kind of cruelty is this? The law is being trampled upon," he said.

Portakal further stated that such practices would negatively affect the operations of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, adding, "There is no law left anyway, and everyone knows that people are treated differently based on who they are.

How do you explain this, legal experts? I am asking you. If it continues like this, the IMM will be locked down in June. It might even become unable to function. Which bureaucrat will you get to accept this? Perhaps that is the goal, or rather, that is the goal. There is lawlessness here, and something needs to be said about it. Though, you say it, and nothing changes, of course," he said.