CHP reacts: 'İmamoğlu’s entire private life and family are being picked apart': A political indictment

The trial of 200 defendants, 33 of whom are in custody, continues at the Istanbul 1st High Criminal Court, following allegations that a "criminal organization for profit," allegedly led by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, organized tenders by bribing certain mayors.

CHP Deputy Chairpersons Gökçe Gökçen and Gül Çiftçi held a press conference in Silivri. Çiftçi began her remarks by noting that the hearing was being held in a hall within the Sincan Prison complex, stating, "This is not a courtroom. This is a prison complex. According to the principle of the natural judge, these hearings should be held at the Çağlayan Courthouse. Moving a hearing that should take place at the Çağlayan Courthouse kilometers away—far from loved ones, voters, and citizens—is yet another indicator that these trials are being conducted in secret."

"Indictments written to smear the CHP's elected mayors"

Çiftçi stated the following:

"Our Mayor Rıza Akpolat, whose private life has been picked apart for days, whose children's names have been discussed, and whose shopping habits have been scrutinized, gave a defense lasting nearly four hours today. The main lines of his defense were entirely political. Because all the allegations were baseless and lacked concrete evidence, and because Mr. Akpolat stated that all these allegations were fabricated, he provided a political defense. This is because this indictment is a political indictment. These are indictments written to block the path of the CHP, which will be the ruling party in the first general election, and to smear the CHP's elected mayors."

Regarding the statement, 'I would like to touch upon a few striking points,' Rıza Akpolat said, 'The only common feature of these people—whom you call informants but we call slanderers—is that I have only ever done good for them in my life. However, these people's initial statements indicated that no such crime existed, but the Prosecutor's Office forced them into the position of slanderers by threatening them with their pregnant wives, their foreign-national wives, their disabled children, and their children who would be left to social services.'

"Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu’s entire private life and his family's private life are being picked apart"

The trial of the IMM indictment will be the same. Because when these indictments were released, we examined those folders one by one and read the indictments line by line. From the very beginning, we have been saying that there is a violation of rights here. People's presumption of innocence is being taken away from them. For days and weeks, we read everything from Rıza Akpolat's honeymoon to the schools his children attend. Today, they carried out another operation in the morning. The entire private life of IMM President and our Presidential Candidate Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, as well as his family's private life, is being picked apart. We see all of this as character assassination. That is how it is being served, anyway. Because there is no evidence behind any of this; these are unsubstantiated allegations and slanders. These trials will eventually end. What matters is the judgment in the eyes and conscience of the citizens, rather than this place that calls itself a courtroom but lacks justice within."

"They also put people on trial in the Ergenekon case"

Emphasizing that the hearings should not be held in Silivri, CHP Deputy Chairperson Gökçe Gökçen noted the following:

"Those who make it look like there is a trial here previously used the same courtrooms to put people on trial in the Ergenekon case and in the Gezi case as well. They only did one thing; if people take to the streets, raise their voices, defend their own rights, or win elections against them, then what needs to be done? One must take revenge in the eyes of this government. What we see here is one of those revenge files against people, against the public itself, against those who speak out, object, and win against them. We will see the next one in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) investigation case."

News Source: 12punto