Heated debate in Istanbul council over İmamoğlu indictment

Tensions flared in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council as the main opposition CHP and the ruling AKP clashed over ongoing investigations and an indictment targeting Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. AKP Group Deputy Chair Faruk Gökkuş defended the legal proceedings, asserting that investigations are a natural response to allegations brought before prosecutors. He suggested that if the CHP is confident in its innocence, they should prove it. Gökkuş also distanced the AKP from the allegations, referencing statements made by CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

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If you took the trouble to attend these hearings even for a day, read the minutes; if you heard the truth, you would be ashamed to say these words here today.

Responding to Gökkuş, CHP Group Deputy Chair Ülkü İnanlı vehemently argued that the indictment against İmamoğlu is politically driven. She pointed to remarks made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at an AKP provincial congress, suggesting these statements directly influenced the indictment's framing of İmamoğlu's alleged involvement in a "criminal organization." İnanlı stated that the political nature of the indictment is evident throughout.

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A prosecutor receives an allegation. What will the prosecutor do? Won't they open an investigation, won't they summon for a statement? If you believe in your innocence, you will prove the contrary of the allegations.

İnanlı urged the AKP group to attend court hearings and read the official records to understand the truth. "If you took the trouble to attend these hearings even for a day, read the minutes; if you heard the truth, you would be ashamed to say these words here today," she declared. She contrasted this with their alleged reliance on pro-government media outlets like A Haber and Yeni Şafak, implying they would not be able to make their current arguments if they were aware of the actual court proceedings.

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How was this indictment written? Our President came as the AKP Chairman at the Konya Provincial Congress, he said 'the biggest of the turbot,' he said 'the tentacles of the octopus,' and all of these entered the indictment.