Letter from Silivri: Rıza Akpolat responds to 'turned state's witness' claims

Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, who has been detained in Silivri for 327 days, has written a letter from prison.

In his writing, Akpolat responded to both his detention process and the recent allegations that he had "turned state's witness."

Here is Akpolat's letter:

"My dear neighbors, on the 327th day of my detention, I greet you all from the Silivri Dungeon with great longing, love, and respect, on behalf of all our mayors, primarily our presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Every day spent away from my neighbors, my family, and my duty is very difficult. However, my faith in the future and my hope for the bright tomorrows of our country keep me standing tall and resilient. The strongest answer we can give to those who try to seize the authority they could not win at the ballot box through various slanders, false statements, and by usurping our will is: To work harder. To produce more. To be in greater solidarity. Here, we work day and night, turning our cell into a school, so to speak. We know that while the end of the road is approaching for thousands, for us, the journey is just beginning.

Without bending, without breaking, and without complaining for a single moment, we are patiently waiting for the day when we will refute every slander cast upon us one by one. Our most important demand is for the hearings to be broadcast live on TRT. Although our party's motion in this direction was rejected in Parliament, the process continues. During our 6-year term, we did not sign a single transaction for which we could not account. Every one of our operations was audited for years by the Court of Accounts and civil inspectors, and not the slightest irregularity that would be subject to an investigation was found.

The real reason we are being held here unjustly and unlawfully is very clear: the role we played in the great change within our party. The situation we are faced with today shows that the change we realized has disrupted all the settings of the established order and that we have become a source of hope for our nation.

Let it be known that the price we are paying is a medal of honor hung around our necks. We are not afraid of being tried. We know that our righteousness will be registered in a very short time. Just as the lie fabricated about me turning state's witness collapsed along with the hollow indictment, all the slanders produced against me, my colleagues, and my family will collapse one by one during the court process. We will be acquitted in this court. And with God's permission, we will emerge from here with our heads held high, our foreheads clear, and much stronger."

News Source: 12punto