Jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu leveled serious accusations against the Turkish government on the first day of his defense testimony in the trial being held in Silivri over the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Imamoglu argued that the trial is clearly politically motivated and aims to exclude him from political life. He said the Turkish government is systematically weakening democratic institutions in an effort to eliminate any possibility of a change in power.
“Today’s government is pursuing a dream of totalitarianism. A politics without opponents. A single-voiced press, a dependent judiciary, a powerless parliament, a frightened society. And at the end of all this, a government that will never change,” Imamoglu told the judges.
Linking the prosecutions to the economic crisis, Imamoglu also denounced the intervention at the opposition TV network Halk TV. He argued that “a government that silences the press not only escapes criticism but also loses touch with reality.” Referring to the accusations about a corruption fund, he said the government’s choices have led to total losses of more than $577 billion.
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He also pointed to the different pace at which the judicial authorities have investigated the funds, compared with the Istanbul municipality case. “They accused me of creating a corruption fund. They created the real corruption fund and stole the people’s money during the same period,” he claimed.
Imamoglu described the situation as the result of institutional decay, noting: “This is the story of a collapse. The collapse of a government, but at the same time of democracy, justice and democratic institutions.”
When his personal details were verified in court, he stated that he holds a master’s degree and said his monthly income is 5,000 to 5,500 euros. He noted that his pretrial detention serves as a form of punishment before a court ruling is issued, and spoke of pressure on his lawyers, one of whom is also in prison.
Referring to the ban on his book Millet Şahidimdir (“The People Are My Witness”), Imamoglu claimed that police intervened at the printing house to stop it from being printed. “They banned my book because the purpose of this trial is not for me to be tried and for the truth to come out. This is an entirely political trial, aimed at neutralizing me politically and shaping the will of the people through a controlled judiciary,” he said.
The proceedings before the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, at Silivri prison, are scheduled to continue with Imamoglu’s defense and his lawyers’ statements until Saturday, October 17.
After the statements are completed, the court is expected to announce its next interim decision, which may concern pretrial detention. This will not be the final verdict on the charges.
The next phase of the trial is expected to begin after a break of about two weeks.
Imamoglu was arrested in March 2025 on “corruption” charges, right after he was named the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate for the 2028 presidential election.