Dilek İmamoğlu reacts to İBB trial in Silivri: 'Our concerns have increased further'

Dilek İmamoğlu, wife of Turkish presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, voiced heightened concerns over the fairness of the ongoing İBB trial. The trial, which resumed after a 40-day hiatus, is being held in a newly constructed courtroom within the Marmara Closed Prison in Silivri.

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Only the courtroom changed in Silivri today. In a hall where families used binoculars to see their loved ones and lawyers had difficulty communicating with their clients, our concerns about fair trial and the achievement of justice have increased even further.

"Only the courtroom changed in Silivri today," Dilek İmamoğlu stated on social media. She described the new venue, where families reportedly used binoculars to see their loved ones and lawyers struggled to communicate with their clients, as exacerbating anxieties about achieving a fair trial and justice. She lamented that despite the construction of a large courtroom, a fundamental condition for justice, the clarity of when and for how long the presidential candidate could present his defense, remains uncertain.

She asserted that the psychological pressure endured by the defendants and their families for the past 1.5 years continues in a different form. Despite these challenges, İmamoğlu affirmed their commitment to advocating for rights, law, and justice. She pledged to persist in the struggle for a Turkey where justice operates equally and fully for everyone, even in the face of courtrooms that create distance and practices that restrict fundamental rights.

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We see that the psychological pressure we and our loved ones have endured for 1.5 years continues in a changed form. But we will not give up for a moment demanding rights, law, and justice.

The İBB trial involves 414 defendants, with 53 currently detained. The resumption of proceedings at the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court marks a significant point in a case that has drawn considerable public attention.

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Despite halls that distance people from each other, practices that limit fundamental rights, and the disregard for law; we will continue our struggle for a Turkey where justice operates equally and fully for everyone.