Controversy over IMM case grows... CHP's live broadcast challenge to Akın Gürlek: 'If you trust the case, let's talk on screen together'

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case, in which Ekrem İmamoğlu is among the defendants and a total of 402 people—106 of whom are in custody—are being tried, will begin tomorrow. The debates surrounding the case have also resonated in the political arena. The case, which came to the agenda with the removal of İmamoğlu from the presidency after his university diploma was canceled on March 18, 2025, and he was detained on March 19 and arrested on March 23, has drawn reactions from a wide segment of society.

BAŞARIR'S LIVE BROADCAST CHALLENGE TO GÜRLEK

CHP Group Deputy Chair Ali Mahir Başarır drew attention with his approach to the case during a program he attended on Sözcü TV. Başarır invited Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek to an open debate in front of the cameras. He expressed his challenge with the following words:

“I have a call here to Akın Gürlek: It is easy to stand before the press in the closed rooms of the Ministry of Justice and make allegations against innocent, blameless people. You are a politician, and I am a politician. You have now entered the political arena. You shouldn't have, but the one-man rule brought you here. Since you trust this case so much, come and debate with me. We can do this on SZC TV, or we can do it on another channel. We can even pick 20 journalists, as you do there, and do this in front of them.”

“YOU CANNOT ACCUSE PEOPLE FROM POSITIONS OF POWER”

Başarır demanded that Minister of Justice Gürlek openly defend his allegations in front of the public instead of making accusations behind closed doors. Başarır continued his challenge with these statements:

“I am calling out to Akın Gürlek from here: It doesn't work by just saying, ‘My allegations are solid, my file is solid.’ Explain that indictment you wrote to 86 million people. Let us share it as a defense attorney, as the CHP Group Deputy Chair, and as a politician who knows this file very well and trusts my friends to the end. If you are a politician, you do this. There is no problem. I am not afraid, I am not hesitant. I vouch for my colleagues, their honor, their dignity, and their file. If you say, ‘I vouch for my file,’ then come on out. Do not accuse people in the closed rooms of the Ministry of Justice, in protected places.”

All eyes will be on the first hearing of the IMM case starting tomorrow and on how Minister Gürlek will respond to this challenge from Başarır.