Ministry delays requests for İmamoğlu and Özdağ
Requests from those wishing to visit Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Victory Party leader Ümit Özdağ, who are being held at Silivri Prison, are awaiting a response from the Ministry of Justice.
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CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on March 19 as part of a financial investigation into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) and was arrested on March 23. Politicians and mayors who wish to visit İmamoğlu, who is being held at Silivri Prison, have not received a response to their applications to the Ministry of Justice for days.
According to a report by Cumhuriyet, figures such as İBB Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan and CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik have requested permission to meet with İmamoğlu but have not received an answer for two weeks. Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş drew attention to this situation at the CHP rally in Silivri, stating that mayors are facing obstacles to visitation.
A similar situation applies to Victory Party leader Ümit Özdağ, who was arrested in January on charges of "publicly inciting hatred and enmity." While party members were able to visit Özdağ in prison easily until the end of January, it has been reported that numerous meeting requests made by various levels of party officials in recent days have not yet been answered.