Justice March Held in Istanbul Marking 300 Days Since Mayor's Arrest

A "Justice March" took place in Istanbul's Bayrampaşa district, marking 300 days since the arrest of the local mayor, Hasan Mutlu, and his colleagues. Organized by the Republican People's Party (CHP), the march from Murat Mahallesi to KİPTAŞ Residences saw participants demanding an end to political influence over the judiciary.

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The law must be freed from the shadow of politics. The pressures on the will of the nation must end. We will not be silent. We will not be afraid. We will not bow down.

"The law must be freed from the shadow of politics. The pressures on the will of the nation must end. We will not be silent. We will not be afraid. We will not bow down," stated a declaration read by CHP Bayrampaşa District Chairman Alican Çam. The statement emphasized that Mutlu and his associates have been deprived of their freedom and removed from their duties for 300 days, awaiting justice.

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If there is an accusation, they should be tried within the law. If there is a claim, it should be debated in court. But you cannot keep elected mayors and their colleagues deprived of their freedom for months and condemn them to wait for the law. Because if justice is delayed, it ceases to be justice.

The speakers argued that delaying justice effectively negates it. They asserted that elected officials should not be held indefinitely without trial, stressing that "If there is an accusation, they should be tried within the law. If there is a claim, it should be debated in court." The declaration also framed the arrests not just as an attack on the CHP, but as an "open intervention" against the public's mandate expressed through elections.

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Today's events are not just directed at Hasan Mutlu. Today's events are not just directed at the Republican People's Party. Today's events are an open intervention aimed at the will expressed by the nation at the ballot box. We are facing an understanding that is trying to take back with the hand of the judiciary what they lost on March 31.

"They fear the people's will for change. They fear the rise of the Republican People's Party under the leadership of our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel. They fear the place Ekrem İmamoğlu holds in the hearts of our nation," the statement continued, asserting that the CHP is now a party that believes in winning and is leading a movement towards change, hope, justice, and the people's power. The marchers vowed that neither judicial operations nor political calculations would halt their progress.

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They fear the people's will for change. They fear the rise of the Republican People's Party. They fear the place Ekrem İmamoğlu holds in the hearts of our nation. But fear is of no use against death.