Striking assessment on the possibility of a trustee for the IMM! 'These are interim decisions with a prepared plan...'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained in a dawn operation on the morning of March 19, was arrested on charges of corruption, while his arrest in the terrorism investigation was denied.

According to the decision taken by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the request was denied with the statement: "Although there is strong suspicion of a crime, since it has already been decided to arrest him for financial crimes, it is not deemed necessary at this stage."

Although the denial of İmamoğlu's arrest on terrorism charges eliminates the possibility of a trustee for the IMM, Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk carried his conversation with legal experts to his column. In his article today, Öztürk drew attention to striking details.

“THEY ARE TRYING TO CREATE A PERCEPTION…”

Saygı Öztürk conveyed the words of a legal expert he consulted and drew attention to the 'trustee appointment':

“If there is a reason for arrest, a person is arrested. It does not matter how many different crimes they are being tried for. These are definitely interim decisions prepared with a plan. They are trying to create the perception that no trustee will be appointed.”

Öztürk also added that some legal experts stated that a trustee appointment could not be made because an acting mayor would be elected on March 26.

The section titled ‘Has the Path for a Trustee Been Closed?’ from Saygı Öztürk’s column today is as follows:

There are those who interpret İmamoğlu's arrest on corruption allegations rather than terrorism organization charges as, "This situation has eliminated the possibility of a trustee being appointed to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality." Indeed, while a trustee was appointed to the Şişli Municipality, no trustee was appointed to the Metropolitan Municipality, and it was decided that the Acting Mayor would be elected on March 26. İmamoğlu was not arrested on "Terrorism" charges, but the judge states in the decision that "Although there is strong suspicion of the crime of aiding an armed terrorist organization, he has already been arrested for financial crimes." 

A legal expert I spoke to said, "If there is a reason for arrest, a person is arrested. It does not matter how many different crimes they are being tried for. These are definitely interim decisions prepared with a plan. They are trying to create the perception that no trustee will be appointed."

Some legal experts stated that a trustee appointment could not be made because an acting mayor would be elected on March 26. 

Following the coup attempt, the trustee practice was initiated in 2016 by a Presidential decree. In the 2nd clause of Article 45 of the Municipalities Law, which was enacted in the Turkish Grand National Assembly in November of the same year, there is the phrase "removal from office due to terrorism or aiding and abetting terrorist organizations" before the arrest situation regarding the appointment of a trustee. The law specifies the conditions under which a trustee will be appointed as follows:

SURPRISE DEVELOPMENT...

"In cases where the mayor is removed from office/arrested or banned from public services due to terrorism/aiding and abetting terrorist organizations, a mayor or acting mayor is appointed by the Minister of Interior in metropolitan and provincial municipalities, and by the governor in other municipalities."

Let us not ignore the possibility that CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and the arrested Ekrem İmamoğlu may make surprise decisions before the 21st Extraordinary CHP Congress to be held on April 6, 2025.

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News Source: 12punto