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🇹🇷 Turkey /Elections & Politics

Day 75 of Istanbul Municipality Case: İmamoğlu’s Lawyers Object to Hearing Time

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case continued for a 75th day, with the court releasing two of 53 detained defendants during a detention review.
  • Ekrem İmamoğlu renewed his request for the hearings to be broadcast live and argued that testimony and evidence had exposed contradictions in the indictment.
  • The trial is moving from detained defendants’ release requests to defenses by defendants who are not in custody; 81 of 325 such defendants had testified during the second hearing session.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case entered its 75th day in Silivri, where the court recently ordered the release of Bakırköy Deputy Mayor Ali Rıza Akyüz and businessman Serkan Öztürk. Their release came during a detention review at Thursday’s hearing.

For families whose relatives have spent more than a year and a half in pretrial detention, the decision offered little relief. They reacted angrily after only two of the 53 detained defendants were released.

I want the trial to be broadcast live, and I want it broadcast in full. Previous hearings, from the very first day until today, should also be aired. Let our people watch every moment.

· Ekrem İmamoğluHe renewed his request for live broadcasts of the trial hearings.

Ekrem İmamoğlu had sought release before the panel announced its decision. He also repeated his demand for live broadcasts of the hearings, including proceedings held since the trial began. “I want the trial to be broadcast live, and I want it broadcast in full. Previous hearings, from the very first day until today, should also be aired. Let our people watch every moment,” he said.

The dates did not add up, the figures did not add up, and the statements of the accusers contradicted one another. Whatever they described for months as evidence was eliminated in the courtroom. What remains is not an indictment built on evidence, but a scenario being kept alive through contradictions.

· Ekrem İmamoğluHe criticized the evidence and testimony presented in the case.

İmamoğlu argued that the case had been undermined in court. “The dates did not add up, the figures did not add up, and the statements of the accusers contradicted one another. Whatever they described for months as evidence was eliminated in the courtroom. What remains is not an indictment built on evidence, but a scenario being kept alive through contradictions,” he said.

The trial will now continue with the defenses of defendants who are not detained. During the second hearing session, which began on Aug. 17, 81 of the 325 defendants outside custody had presented their defenses. Former Şişli Mayor Muammer Keskin was scheduled to speak, followed by İmamoğlu’s son, Selim İmamoğlu, who said he had been included because of his surname. “If my surname were not İmamoğlu, I would not be here today,” he said. He argued that his presence was intended to pressure his father and force him to step back.

If my surname were not İmamoğlu, I would not be here today.

· Selim İmamoğluHe argued that he was brought into the case because he is Ekrem İmamoğlu’s son.
About this summary

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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