Poster of jailed Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş removed before interim election

Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, who was arrested and jailed last week as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, was transferred to the Karatepe Prison in Çorlu, Tekirdağ. A poster featuring Dedetaş's quote, "Even if you imprison all of us, this nation's face will not smile," alongside a quote from the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, stating "Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation," was displayed on the Üsküdar Municipality building.

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Even if you imprison all of us, this nation's face will not smile.

The poster was removed just before the election of an interim mayor. The Üsküdar Municipal Council was scheduled to elect a replacement for Dedetaş, who was removed from her post after her arrest. The poster, which included Dedetaş's words and her image, was taken down from the front of the municipality building late last night, prior to the election.

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Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation.

During a municipal council meeting in April, following the initial operation at the Üsküdar Municipality, Dedetaş criticized the investigation. "Nobody's face is truly smiling these days. The events, the slanders thrown at us, do not make people smile," she stated. "I look at this side: Just do politics, slander people, lie, imprison them... Present images of money that do not belong to us as if they are the municipality's; within two minutes, this is refuted, the bank statements emerge... This process will not lead anywhere like this. Even if you imprison all of us, this nation's face will not smile. This economy is not improving like this. You can slander us as much as you want. It's free anyway, nothing happens to anyone! That's why I say, I hope justice works equally for everyone. Then perhaps such slander cannot be made so easily."

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Nobody's face is truly smiling these days. The events, the slanders thrown at us, do not make people smile. I look at this side: Just do politics, slander people, lie, imprison them... Present images of money that do not belong to us as if they are the municipality's; within two minutes, this is refuted, the bank statements emerge... This process will not lead anywhere like this. Even if you imprison all of us, this nation's face will not smile. This economy is not improving like this. You can slander us as much as you want. It's free anyway, nothing happens to anyone! That's why I say, I hope justice works equally for everyone. Then perhaps such slander cannot be made so easily.