Debate over IMM indictment pits AKP figures against each other

The indictment prepared against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, in which Ekrem İmamoğlu faces a request for up to 2,352 years in prison, continues to be a subject of public debate.

While the opposition argues that there is insufficient evidence in the indictment, a heated argument broke out on live television between AKP member Yaşar Baş and former AKP deputy Şamil Tayyar over the issue.

INDICTMENT DEBATE

Baş stated that those who criticize the indictment either have not read it or are anti-government, saying, "This indictment is extremely successful. Those who criticize it have either an intent problem or an intelligence problem."

These remarks drew a reaction from Tayyar. Tayyar opposed Baş, saying, "It is not right to call those who think differently an intelligence problem. In a democratic society, we must tolerate different opinions. The indictment is not yet a concrete text; the judicial process is ongoing." Tayyar emphasized that legal experts should not pass definitive judgment and criticized this type of approach.