Allegation that garbage trucks blocked a TOMA! Employees summoned to testify

Following reports in local newspapers last March during protests in support of İmamoğlu in İzmit, Kocaeli, claiming that garbage collection vehicles belonging to the CHP-run İzmit Municipality had blocked a TOMA during the protest despite it being their scheduled time for waste collection, two personnel operating the garbage truck were summoned to testify on charges of 'hijacking or detaining transport vehicles'.

"GARBAGE TRUCK BLOCKED THE TOMA"

According to the report in Sözcü, the statement included in the Chief Public Prosecutor's interview record stated: “In the investigation initiated upon the determination that a news report titled 'Did they block the path of the TOMAs with garbage trucks?' was published on 22/03/2025 at 11:21 AM on the internet news site named En Kocaeli regarding the events in our province concerning the detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu; it was determined that a group that gathered in front of the İzmit District Municipal Business Center on March 21 at around 6:00 PM and began chanting slogans wanted to hold a march after holding a sit-in for a while, and despite warnings that the action was illegal and that they should disperse, the group insisted on not dispersing and was intervened with a TOMA; while the intervention was ongoing, at around 8:30 PM in front of the Fevziye Mosque, it was determined that garbage collection vehicles identified as belonging to the İzmit Municipality Cleaning Affairs Directorate blocked the path of the TOMA and prevented the TOMA vehicle from advancing.” It was learned that the two workers summoned to testify went to the prosecutor's office yesterday.

(Photo: Sözcü)

“IF THIS IS HAPPENING BASED ON FAKE NEWS, IT IS THE END OF THE LINE”

Reacting sharply to the allegations that the garbage collection vehicles blocked the TOMA, İzmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet stated: “We had a large iftar for 25 thousand people that day; the prosecutor summoned the workers to testify on allegations of hijacking a transport vehicle and supporting the protest, claiming the garbage truck that was supposed to collect the trash there coincided with the protest time. The public has reached such a point that those who participate in a protest are summoned to testify, and those who do not are as well. If our worker who was there by chance is being summoned to testify for doing their job, and if this is happening based on fake news, it is the end of the line. Someone makes up a news story based on a photo as they please, and the prosecutor's office takes it into account and summons our workers to testify. We are a public institution; they could have written to us and asked, 'Why were these garbage trucks there?' or obtained information from the police. After all, the police are affiliated with the governor's office. However, without asking anything, the prosecutor's office takes action based solely on a fake news story from a local newspaper. Yet, we identify a world of things. We make so many statements as an elected mayor, but we have never seen our words taken into account or such deep investigations conducted into crimes until today.”