Prosecutor seeks continued detention of 46 people in İmamoğlu case

At the third hearing of the İmamoğlu case, held at Istanbul's 33rd Heavy Penal Court in the courtroom opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Institution, the public prosecutor requested that all detained defendants remain in detention. The hearing brought a request for continued detention for 46 people.

Murat Ongun, Chairman of the Board of Medya AŞ, one of the first to be given the floor, stated that he was arrested on 23 March and said, "We were arrested on the basis of secret witness statements." Arguing that the reports in the indictment were erroneous, Ongun claimed that there were contradictions in the statements of persons covered by effective remorse. Using the phrase "Justice does not come out of a vise," Ongun stated that he had learned how to get out of a vise from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Detained defendant Fatih Keleş, Chairman of the İBB Sports Club, said that the statements made about him were not true and that it had become clear in court that the HTS records did not match the statements. Stating that there was no evidence regarding the money he was alleged in the indictment to have been given, Keleş requested his release.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from his post as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor, stated that they had been in Silivri for 602 days and argued that in the operation, prosecution and interrogation processes that have lasted 20 months, not a single piece of evidence, footage, audio recording or document had been found. İmamoğlu stated that "all my fellow travelers should be released and tried without detention" and said that not even one minute should be waited.

İmamoğlu said that 236 of the 602 days had been spent waiting for the indictment to be written and that the remaining 366 days were the responsibility of the court. Saying "Despite a collapsed indictment, the continued detention decisions issued in every review are not law but persecution," İmamoğlu stated that he condemned the decisions in the strongest terms.

Presiding Judge Selçuk Aylan warned İmamoğlu while he was speaking: "Mr. Ekrem, adjust your tone of voice" and "Do not speak while swinging your arms." Criticizing the questions the prosecutor's office asked during cross-examination, İmamoğlu stated that in a file consisting of a 4,000-page indictment, 80,000 pages of annexes and reaching 350,000 pages, he was asked 10-15 questions. The defendant, for whom 2,430 years in prison is sought, said "I spoke to my 87 million fellow citizens" and concluded his remarks by saying, "As long as all my friends are not released, I stand before your decision."