The IMM case, which includes 436 defendants, 53 of whom are in custody, including the detained Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ekrem İmamoğlu, continued on its 101st day at the courtroom located in the Marmara Closed Prison complex in Silivri.
İmamoğlu completed his defense, which he began on Wednesday, on its fourth day. It was stated that the defense lasted a total of 21 hours. Stating that he was removed from the courtroom without being able to make his defense on the last day of the first hearing of the case, İmamoğlu made a long defense in this session.
In the final part of his defense, İmamoğlu directed harsh criticisms at the government and the judicial process, and denied the accusations against him. Arguing that the file contains "politics, the ballot box, and the national will," İmamoğlu said that the trial lacks legal and moral legitimacy.
13.00 | İMAMOĞLU COMPLETES HIS DEFENSE
According to Cumhuriyet, in the final part of his defense, İmamoğlu quoted Sezai Karakoç's poem "They think that," which is also occasionally recited by AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying, "If we remain silent, there will be no issue. However, if we remain silent, history will not remain silent. If history remains silent, the truth will not remain silent."
İmamoğlu concluded his defense, which he started on Wednesday and lasted 21 hours over 4 days, with the following words of Ali ibn Abi Talib:
"I have not been, and will not be, a figurehead in this process that has no legal or moral legitimacy. We will all watch together what kind of decision will come out of this courtroom. The process is ongoing. My concern is this: were some decisions written before this courtroom was established? Or will they be written during the process? You will prove this. There is no crime in this courtroom, and I have made my decision. There is no criminal in this courtroom. There is politics in this courtroom, there is the ballot box, there is the will of the nation. And the account I will give, and the justice I seek, is solely and only in the unerring scales of my great nation's conscience. Let everyone know this very well. Bowing down in the face of oppression, remaining silent in the face of injustice, does not exist in our faith. I will repeat these words: They think that if we remain silent, there will be no issue. However, if we remain silent, history will not remain silent. If history remains silent, the truth will not remain silent. They think that if they get rid of us, there will be no issue. However, if they get rid of us, they will not be rid of the pangs of conscience. If they are rid of the pangs of conscience, they will not be rid of the torment of history. If they are rid of the torment of history, they will not be rid of the wrath of God. No matter how much pressure you apply, no matter how much you turn the judiciary into a stick, this nation has dismantled and cast aside the shackles that were intended to be placed on its will and its livelihood throughout history. This nation will dismantle and cast them aside again. We have not, and will not, for a single moment refrain from protecting the honorable legacy of the Republic and the rightful share of the nation. We are not afraid, we are not giving up. Our foreheads are clear, our heads are held high, we are not taking a single step back. We will never allow that great hope that has blossomed in the squares, streets, and ballot boxes of this country to be extinguished by plots hatched in courthouse corridors."
"IF THE OPPRESSOR PERSISTENTLY CONTINUES TO OPPRESS, KNOW THAT HIS END IS NEAR"
"Because no government has ever had the final word in this country, and it never will. No office has said it, no person can say it. No court can say it either. The nation has always, always said the final word, and the nation will say it again. And that word of the nation is the foundation of the Republic: Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation. We are students of Atatürk. We are the unyielding guardians of the Republic. We are the eternal defenders of democracy. No matter what you do, the nation always says the final word. Divine justice always delivers the final verdict. And let no one have any doubt. Justice will prevail. Democracy will prevail. The Republic will prevail. This noble nation will prevail. I entrust myself not to anyone, but to my noble nation. How beautifully Ali ibn Abi Talib said: If the oppressor persistently continues to oppress, know that his end is near. If the oppressed also persistently resists, know that victory is near. I greet our noble nation and the esteemed panel with respect."
12.50 | "YOU ARE LEADING AN INTERREGNUM, BUT YOUR ERA HAS ENDED"
While continuing his criticisms of the government in the final part of his defense, İmamoğlu used the following expressions:
"You are leading an interregnum. You are inside a parenthesis that will close in the history of Turkey. You are trying to forcibly prevent that parenthesis from closing. You think that by putting me in jail, that parenthesis will not close and this era will continue as such. But I am saying it from here; your era has ended. Turkey has experienced interim periods in the past as well. This period will also go down in history as an interim period. An interim period that has completed its lifespan and is playing in extra time. An interim period that is trying to stay on its feet by force, tired, with the sparkle in its eyes gone, its judgment weakened, struggling to walk. Its energy is spent. You can no longer even see or perceive what is happening around you. You make decisions only with the news you receive from a small group that directs you. You are disconnected from the people, you are disconnected from the street. You are disconnected from the square, the market, the mosque, the nation. This period we are living in will be written in the ledger of oddities of Turkish history. Then it will close and go away. In the future, historians will write about this dark period with a bit of bewilderment and a bit of horror. Our children, who read that a mayor was tried because he built a subway, because he paid his debt, because he canceled a tender and had it done more cheaply, will not believe it, they will be baffled. They will be ashamed of how they did this. The children of those who did this will read it and be ashamed. They will feel shame. They will be ashamed of their father, their uncle, their grandfather. And that day, they will hold everyone accountable. Who set up this file, who signed it, who remained silent? This courtroom will give the answers to those questions, history will give them. And that history is very near."
12.45 | HE HANDED A COPY OF HIS BOOK TO THE COURT
İmamoğlu then handed a copy of his book, which was banned while it was in the printing stage, to the court panel.
While it was seen that the panel was examining the book while İmamoğlu continued his speech, İmamoğlu continued as follows:
"There is no bomb or anything on this book you see, this model. There is not a single sentence in this book that calls for violence. This file is inside it. This book is a slightly shortened version of the defense I prepared at that time. Fearing that very defense, in an irregular manner, and by involving our police in this business, this book was feared and this book was banned."
12.40 | "I AM CLOSING THE ACCOUNT BOOK OF THIS FILE"
"I have been held accountable for months. Now, in the presence of my nation, I am closing the account book of this file," said İmamoğlu, and continued his words as follows:
"They said 560 billion. They couldn't find 560 kuruş. They lowered the figure to 160 billion, and they had two-thirds of that calculated by the civil servants of a ministry that is a party to the case, without opening the mining law. They wrote the rest as damage from paying debts, making a profit, and canceling a tender to have it done more cheaply. They said organization. The man they put in the diagram said, 'I am not an organization leader.' The owner of the organization's founding sentence said, 'I saw it as a template.' The managers recognized each other in this courtroom. They said spy. They put a photo of a five-minute courtesy visit as evidence. The photos of the same man with the highest state officials were not even questioned. They said bribery. The person who was said to have given the bribe said, 'We felt it.' The person who was said to have received the money said he saw me for the first time at the Vatan Police Headquarters. Everything they called bribery ended up hitting a nursery, a school, an intersection, a subway line."
12.30 | "THEY SCARED US WITH EACH OTHER'S EXISTENCE"
Ekrem İmamoğlu continued his speech as follows:
"They said if you make room for someone else, your place will narrow. They even said they would steal your place. They scared us with each other's existence. We narrowed the table, we closed the doors, we put distance between us. We created barriers between us. Then, shamelessly, we asked why this country cannot find peace. You will enlarge the table, brother. You will share the morsel fairly. You will produce a lot of bread, you will share it fairly. And remember, no one is a guest at this country's table. Everyone is an equal and honorable part of this country. We will be a country whose reputation will be measured not by the magnificence of its buildings, but by the value it gives to its children. We do not accept a Turkey where, for the first time, a generation is poorer than the previous generation. For the first time in this country, a generation is much poorer than previous generations, and it will not be easy to close this poverty gap. However, we will create a youth in this country that produces freely, competes with the world, and says, 'I have to stay in Turkey to live well.'"
12.00 | "YOU CANNOT BE LEGITIMATE WHILE YOUR RIVALS ARE LYING IN EDIRNE AND SILIVRI"
İmamoğlu continued his words as follows:
"You cannot be a strong state by saying 'I know everything,' by saying 'let me gather everything in Ankara and cram it into the palace.' You cannot be a strong state with trustees. You cannot be a strong state by throwing your rivals in jail. If the rivals you threw in jail are lying in Edirne and Silivri, you cannot be legitimate. You have lost your legitimacy. The election you enter in this way will not be legitimate either. Turkey is tired of fighting within itself, enough is enough! By dividing the nation like this, like this... Such furrowed brows, such sullen faces... Enough! For 20 years, 25 years, is the nation tired of showing people fear, anger, violence, and bad things from the same seat? The person wants a smiling face. They want sincerity, they want joy, they want hope. It is tired of turning our identities into weapons against each other. It is tired of separating our neighborhoods, competing our lifestyles, and constantly turning our differences into a cause for fear. We will change this."
11.45 | HE DEFINED HIS IDEAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE STATE
As he reached the final part of his defense, İmamoğlu continued his criticisms of the government by speaking about his ideal understanding of the state.
The prominent statements of İmamoğlu in the relevant section were as follows:
"My dear citizens, I do not see the conditions Turkey is in today as the destiny of this country. I think that destiny is a process that is in the hands of these citizens themselves, regarding how this country and these citizens can live. Poverty is not our destiny. Injustice is not our destiny. Fear is not our destiny. Polarization is not our destiny. Cowering is not our destiny. Being a captive to one person is not our destiny at all. Our youth seeking a future in other countries is not our destiny. A country where women do not feel safe is not our destiny. 50-60 thousand people dying under concrete in an earthquake is not our destiny. A country where the worker remains poor, the retiree cannot make ends meet, and the retiree cannot even give 5 or 10 liras to their grandchild is not our destiny. A form of country where the farmer is distanced from their land, villages are emptied, there is no production, hunger and misery roam, and this country cannot sustain itself is not our destiny. It is not our destiny that the entrepreneur cannot see their path, cannot produce here, and we are proud of them from here, waving at them, for the inventions they make in other countries of the world because they couldn't do it here."
"I KNOW WHAT THIS NATION CAN DO..."
"Our people are not untalented. Our people are talented. The world shows a car flying in the air, turning upside down and landing again, and puts on a show. The man at the head of the country that puts on this show mocks us by saying 'my friend, my friend' and makes us do all the bad work. And here we are, dealing with what we are dealing with, and then if we get very squeezed, we shout 'eyyy' from here. Hearing this voice is not our destiny. A system where the citizen is afraid of their own state is not our destiny. I do not consent to all these evils. Because I know this country. I know what this nation can do. I know its energy, I know its intelligence. I know its conscience, I know its diligence. I know that 10 millions who are more hardworking, more intelligent, and more energetic than me live in this country. I know that Turkey will reach its best state. That is why my faith is high. That is why I am raising my voice without fear from 12 square meters. That is why 12 square meters feels like the 786 thousand square kilometers of the Republic of Turkey to me. That is why the palace feels smaller than 12 square meters to some."
11.30 | "MR. PRESIDENT, THERE ARE OCTOPUS ARMS ON THE PODIUM YOU ARE IN"
İmamoğlu announced that after returning to prison following the hearing last night, the detained General Manager of İSTTELKOM, Melih Geçek, was taken to the prosecutor's office and a new arrest warrant was issued for him due to another investigation.
İmamoğlu stated that Geçek, who he said was given 15 days to provide information to the prosecutor's office within the scope of the investigation but was taken to testify without notice, said the following about Geçek:
"We lived and spent yesterday together. I am leaving a little early. They are taking me alone. My friends are coming later. When they arrive, a friend of mine who witnessed that event calls out during my lawyer meeting and says: 'They took Melih to SEGBİS again.' Look, they are waiting for our return to prison. It is planned, designed, the court is established, Melih's return to prison is awaited. There is no referral regarding Melih in the statement taken in the morning, no referral to the court, nothing. They take Melih to SEGBİS alone as soon as he enters the prison, they take him to court. They give an arrest warrant for Melih, who was not even referred to the court. Isn't this the eye of a needle of coincidence, Mr. President? Backup arrest... What is this if not shamelessness? I mean, Melih was going to testify again in 15 days. If you said to Melih right now, please stand up. Do you know he would be ashamed to stand up? He is such a gentleman, such a refined, such a moral man. Upon the statement of a degenerate whose spine has been shattered and who is testifying here like he is dancing, upon the statement of Erol Naim, a degenerate who was a department head for me, 'You take this friend's statement yesterday morning, you say I will call you in 15 days, you give an arrest warrant in the evening. Mr. President, esteemed panel, there are octopus arms on the podium you are in. You see them or you don't see them. There are octopus arms. Around your chairs, inside your computers, there are octopus arms."
"MR. PRESIDENT, I AM WARNING YOU..."
"Is this 'fair trial'? There is a fair trial here. And we will make a defense in a fair trial, is that so? Who is fooling whom? The name of this is an ambush. The name of this is stabbing in the back. The name of this is oppression. The name of this is biased judiciary. Guided judiciary. Mr. President, esteemed panel, I ask my nation, oh my people, oh my noble nation, I ask; when did treachery enter our culture? When did treachery enter our public institutions? I am warning from here, eyyy Mr. President; protect yourself from this treacherous order, this established, ambush order, ambush system. As a fellow citizen, Mr. President, I am warning you. Knowing that a person who manages Turkey from evening to morning, from morning to evening, will not even be aware of these, will not even have time to spare for these, protect even yourself from this treachery. I am warning you."
11.15 | REACTION FROM İMAMOĞLU TO 'TRUSTEE'
Drawing attention to the Esenyurt Municipality, where a trustee was appointed following the operation against Esenyurt Municipality and Ahmet Özer, which first took place on October 30, 2024, İmamoğlu spoke about the operation against the trustee administration in the municipality in recent days:
"With the operation carried out against our dear Mayor Ahmet Özer on October 30, along with the national will coup that was carried out, a trustee was appointed to Esenyurt, the largest district of Turkey, which we know has a de facto population of around 1 million. And after this trustee was appointed, although he was actually a civil administrator of the state, he did quite a bit of AK Party politics. This person is made a deputy governor suddenly while he was a district governor before the operation, then he is appointed as a custom-made trustee after this operation was carried out from that position. I mean, imagine that it is known that an operation will be carried out on Esenyurt, it is known who will be appointed. They said corruption in Esenyurt, Ahmet Özer stayed in prison for over 1 year. While he was lying there for 1 year, it turns out they had taken it in Esenyurt. How do I say they took it? Look, I haven't said such a thing about anyone. Because it is clear as day. Well, where is the operation? Where is the trustee? Why wasn't he arrested? Why wasn't he detained? These people inside this huge judiciary did this act, which can be described as lawlessness, immoral, a legal murder. Why doesn't one of them come out and apologize to Ahmet Özer? Why is Ahmet Özer not reinstated to his duty?"
News Source: 12punto
