The 101st day of the IMM trial, which includes 436 defendants, 53 of whom are in custody, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, is being held by the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court at the Marmara Closed Prison complex in Silivri.
According to ANKA, the cross-examination began after İmamoğlu completed his defense on the fourth day. When asked by the Presiding Judge about his acquaintance and relationship with Adem Soytekin, İmamoğlu replied:
“In 2007 or 2008, when I was not yet in politics, he had done subcontracting work for my company; that is where our acquaintance came from. We have known each other since then. He does his job well, he is a practical contractor, he does fast, high-quality work. I know that he also does work for public institutions. These jobs are also in the archives of the institutions; if you wish, you can access them there. At the same time, I know that he has also built various structures produced in the field, such as the nurseries mentioned, places of worship, including mosques and cemevis. Of course, I am not in a position to give you details. But the details of all these works are already available in the archives of the institutions. You can get whatever you want. He is someone who takes on work within a process that has nothing to hide. By the way, I have not even had as much conversation with Mr. Adem as the dialogue we are having right now. But I have encountered him during my site visits. Even when he was my contractor, we did not have such technical conversations. At that time, he was talking to my company's managers and engineers. But we greet each other, we sit down, we even joke around at construction sites here and there. The relationship is quite humane, a contact based on the identity of a business person and a business person. He is also someone I know and recognize as a person in the position of a contractor for the institution.”
PRESIDING JUDGE: "ADEM SOYTEKIN'S STATEMENTS WERE THE SAME DURING THE INVESTIGATION STAGE"
When the Presiding Judge asked, “Adem Soytekin’s statements were the same during the investigation stage, and we listened to the same things here as well. He said, ‘I received payments from the business people they directed me to.’ How do you explain these?”, İmamoğlu replied:
“It is very clear. It is not a complex equation with many unknowns, Mr. President. I mean, a method did not descend from the sky in this Ekrem İmamoğlu-Beylikdüzü Municipality or Ekrem İmamoğlu-Metropolitan Municipality dialogue, etc. This is not such a sample. I mean, it is not an issue that needs to be thought about too much or that will tire you out. Babacan İnşaat gave the best example of this here. He said, and I remember him answering with the persistent questions of you or the prosecution, he said here, 'I think after Sait Çalık's statements that day, regarding the completion of a sports hall or a student dormitory there, at Yaşar Acar Science High School. When I learned that Asoy Construction was involved in the construction of that building, I did not doubt it. Because they had already given the work to Asoy for the construction of a mosque during the AK Party-led Esenyurt Municipality period, and I had made payments to them. I had made them to Asoy. That is why I did not hesitate at all.'
So look, I say this with a claim, whether you look at Esenler, or the Metropolitan Municipalities, or I don't know, other municipalities, I mean they don't come to mind right now, we can count them, Bahçelievler, this and that. Look at all the mayors, this method is applied in municipalities. You also asked a few times in an insinuating way—don't perceive 'insinuating' negatively—'Does this work like this, why is it like this when there is a job, when there is an official channel,' etc. There are different reasons for this. Either the person does not want to be involved in that work in that way, that is, 'show someone and I will give it to them to do' or 'let me find it, I will give it to them to do,' and entering the municipal council with different methods and making official donations from there does not suit the interests of construction companies.”
Explaining his contracting background, İmamoğlu continued his words as follows:
“Mr. President, I have been a business person for 35 years. I worked as a contractor. My father and I have been in Beylikdüzü since 1992. I built sports fields, including for Motherland Party (ANAP), SHP, MHP, and AK Party municipalities. I supported an indoor sports hall. I poured the foundation concrete for a cultural center. I mean, I did 50 percent of the rough construction of a school. Do you know how much I can tell you? It is as if someone, an inventor, invented something and Ekrem İmamoğlu and his friends here committed a crime and Adem became the perpetrator of this. There is no such thing. It is that simple, that simple an event. This is the clear answer to your question.”
“THIS IS THE PROCEDURE APPLIED, THIS IS THE REALITY OF TURKEY”
The Presiding Judge asked, “So you are saying that this is the procedure applied, regardless of whether the transaction is legal or illegal, right?” İmamoğlu replied, “This is the procedure applied, Mr. President. It is very clear, this is the reality of Turkey.” Reminding of the words of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding receiving donations from unlicensed and illegal buildings, İmamoğlu said:
“I just showed you a headline here. Whose headline? President Erdoğan's headline. He did worse. What does he say? He has his own statement saying, 'We are receiving donations from unlicensed and illegal buildings.' I did not receive a donation from anyone's unlicensed construction or foundationless construction. I know that I spoke with people, with my friends. I did not deal with anyone one-on-one. But I know for a fact that my friends spoke for the public good, for the public benefit. Because we inaugurated almost all of them. I mean, we also saw how people who tried to produce a different version of this here were not prosecuted or were not included in the file when the examples before 2019 went away. In that respect, it is very clear. The relationship with Adem is very clear.”
“THERE IS NEITHER EXTORTION NOR BRIBERY IN THE NAME OF THIS”
Stating that Soytekin did official work during both the Beylikdüzü Municipality and IMM periods, İmamoğlu said the following regarding how the donations were carried out:
“The work done here is of two types. Yes, he also had official work; he entered tenders, won them, and did them both during the Beylikdüzü period and the Metropolitan Municipality period. I mean, if his balance has shifted and he has given 8 or 12 statements, that does not concern me. That is his own business. But yes, he also did official work. During the meetings of the people in the institution, with this practicality and this character of doing work quickly, to be honest, let me say it in clearer Turkish, sometimes he is reckless, he says, 'If you want me to do it, I will do it,' and he goes in and does it. Later, some things were paid for by bringing together these people who made donations. There is neither extortion nor bribery in the name of this. Whoever says this, whoever writes this, has definitely written it here with a deliberate and definitely political motive. Even a significant portion of the people who came here said they did it and gave examples.”
The Presiding Judge reminded of the apartments transferred to Adem Soytekin in the action known as the 11th Neighborhood and the statements of Uğur Güngör. İmamoğlu said, “I don't know the details about the 11th Neighborhood. I mean, Mehmet Bey explained those. I mean, believe me, I don't even remember it in my memory.” The Presiding Judge also asked about the money sent to Adem Soytekin by Doğuş Holding under the name of earthquake housing. İmamoğlu said, “Of course, he is already saying that, that a shelter was going to be built there regarding the earthquake. Moreover, I inaugurated that place. I was there at the opening. There was a person named Lütfü Savaş, the mayor of the period. The KİPTAŞ General Manager was there. Because they also coordinated a part of it through KİPTAŞ and provided consultancy services to the field. It was a very important, serious campus.”
The Presiding Judge asked why the Doğuş Group did not send the money directly to the municipality as a conditional donation, and why the transaction was carried out through Adem Soytekin instead. Upon the questions of the Presiding Judge, who stated that 191 million liras appeared in the receipts, İmamoğlu said, “No, there is no 10 million dollars there. No, no, it is not such a large figure.”
“THE ISSUE IS A MATTER OF CONSENT, CONSENT HAS BEEN OBTAINED”
Stating that the structures in question were not earthquake housing but temporary shelters, İmamoğlu said:
“Yes, I mean they were temporary shelters. I know they are still being used. It was designed that way. In fact, there is also a donation in the construction of that place, for example. I mean, Doğuş's donation alone was not enough for that work. For example, the CHP deputies of that period also had a one-salary support there. One of those who paid a salary is here; Aykut Erdoğdu, for example, also paid a salary there. It was a practical job. If I am not mistaken, the CHP group sent the money to KİPTAŞ at that time. KİPTAŞ also did it in return for the contractor's construction in this way. These are not irregular, illegal, or unlawful acts. There is the allocation of the land. Yes, there have been jobs that sometimes needed to be directly associated with the municipality. Of course, there are legal justifications for this, periodic needs, the speed of a job...
The issue is whether this work turns into public benefit. The issue is a matter of consent. Consent has been obtained, consent has been carried out mutually. Everyone was satisfied with the work done. At least, as I said, although I am not familiar with the details of the process, at least when I met those people at the beginning and at the end, everyone expressed their satisfaction.”
“I DO NOT THINK THERE IS A FLAW REGARDING ITS TRANSFORMATION INTO PUBLIC BENEFIT”
Stating that he organized a promotional meeting for business people for the construction of nurseries, İmamoğlu also conveyed the call he made at this meeting:
“Look, Mr. President, regarding the nurseries, I held a launch at a hotel in Taksim, saying, ‘Come, let's build nurseries together. Whether you build them yourselves, make an official donation, or pay a contractor to do it; let's equip Istanbul with nurseries.’ Hundreds of people came there; there are business people, there are people who are well-off. Look, there is even the brother of someone who is currently a minister in the AK Party cabinet. Now you are saying, ‘Why did you choose such a path?’ The citizen said in the back door: ‘I don't want my name to be seen at all, but I have something spiritual in my own name in my mother's name, I want to help,’ for example. He also made such a payment. So, I do not think there is a flaw regarding its transformation into public benefit in that process. This is the way it is carried out according to the work done, the place where it is done, and the benefit that returns to the people and the public.”
RESPONSE TO Ertan Yıldız'S DOĞUŞ GROUP CLAIM: “DO YOU ACCEPT THIS AS REAL OR AS A STATEMENT?”
The Presiding Judge conveyed Ertan Yıldız's statement regarding a meeting held in Saraçhane in the second half of 2023. The Presiding Judge said, “According to Yıldız's account, you, Can Akın Çağlar, and a few others were present at the meeting. Yıldız stated that you asked Çağlar what was being done regarding the collection of 10 million dollars from the Doğuş Group, and that Çağlar said they had met with the company's CEO, Hüsnü Bey. Yıldız claimed that you said, ‘They don't need to give all the money officially, let's take a large part of it unofficially. Elections are approaching, money will be needed.’” İmamoğlu asked the Presiding Judge, “Do you accept this as real, Mr. President, or as a statement?” The Presiding Judge replied, “I am not accepting it right now. I am asking because you are the addressee. You know, since he made such a claim.”
İmamoğlu, on the other hand, reminded of the statements of the Doğuş Group and Can Akın Çağlar in response to Yıldız's statement and said:
“Okay. Why did I ask? I asked for this reason: Because in response to the same statement, Doğuş said, ‘I did not say such a thing.’ ‘I did not encounter such a... such an addressee,’ he said. Mr. Can also said, ‘Such a conversation did not take place in my presence.’ Therefore, as someone who has unfortunately surprised me in every way, like Ertan, and who has done some things that he should not have done, which are many identified within the institution, it is not a valid word for me. You currently have three more statements before you that I consider valid against him, I suggest you take them into account.”
“TO SAVE THEMSELVES AND GAIN THEIR FREEDOM...”
The Presiding Judge asked about the accounts regarding the alleged structuring within the IMM in the statements of Ertan Yıldız and Adem Soytekin. Reminding of the statements involving various names through the Cebeci excavation area, Boğaziçi, Medya A.Ş., Kültür A.Ş., and KİPTAŞ, the Presiding Judge asked whether there was a separate structuring within the municipality. Denying the allegations, İmamoğlu said, “Because of the unlawful methods they carry out and the situations they have put people in, the completely baseless, fancy words and fancy statements that the people you just mentioned have given repeatedly to save themselves and gain their freedom. Some of those who gave them already stated later, ‘I did not say that’ or ‘it is a template.’”
“I STAND BY WHAT I HAVE SAID”
Stating that the organizational charts in the municipality are institutional, İmamoğlu continued his words as follows:
“Mr. President, every organizational chart presented by Ekrem İmamoğlu is scientific, institutional, and in the interest of the institution. The opposite is never, ever possible. We have made an effort to present a working style that aims to utilize all bureaucrats within the Metropolitan Municipality to the maximum extent and to maximize benefit and efficiency. At the same time, we have tried to utilize the various political identities and council members of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in different areas. We have nothing to hide. It is recorded and documented. I gave you the longest account you have perhaps heard regarding Cebeci here. Each one is documented and recorded. There is no place for fallacy in it in any way, it is quite consistent. I stand by what I have said. I also endorse the statements made by my bureaucrat colleagues and fellow mayors present here regarding these matters.”
News Source: 12punto
