Ekrem İmamoğlu was sentenced to 2 years and 7 months in prison and ‘political ban’ in the lawsuit filed against him for insulting the YSK. If the decision is not overturned during the appeal process, İmamoğlu will be dismissed.
The fourth hearing of the lawsuit filed against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu for allegedly insulting members of the Supreme Election Board (YSK) was held today at the Anatolian Courthouse in Kartal, Istanbul. Imamoğlu was asked to be sentenced to imprisonment of up to four years and one month and the 53rd article of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which includes a ‘political ban’, and the judge rejected all the demands of the lawyers on the grounds that they were aimed at extending the time.
The court sentenced Ekrem İmamoğlu to 2 years and 7 months in prison. The court also ruled for the application of Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code, which includes the issue of “deprivation of the use of certain rights”. If the decision is finalized on appeal, Ekrem İmamoğlu will be removed as mayor.
While entrances to the courthouse were restricted, TOMA vehicles were placed at some points in front of the courthouse. Before the hearing, a dispute broke out due to the police asking lawyers for their ID cards. Istanbul Bar Association President Filiz Saraç intervened in the dispute. Journalists who wanted to watch the hearing were told that only journalists with press cards issued by the prosecutor’s office would be allowed into the courtroom. The entrance to the courtroom was blocked with barricades.
REQUEST FOR RECUSAL REJECTED
Judge Mehdi Komşul announced that the request for recusal made in the previous hearing was rejected. Imamoğlu’s lawyers requested that the objection to the recusal of the judge be sent once again to the heavy criminal court according to Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The judge ruled that the objection had already been finalized and that there was no need for a new decision.
ONGUN: ALL STATEMENTS ARE DIRECTED AGAINST POLITICIANS
IBB employee Murat Ongun, who was heard as a witness at the hearing, said the following: “During a meeting, many of our journalist friends reminded us that Soylu called İmamoğlu ‘idiot’ in his statement in the morning. They asked if Imamoğlu would respond. I asked the president and he said, ‘This is a very inappropriate statement, let’s respond’. So I called my journalist friends and invited them, and they pointed to Soylu in their question. After the statement, we continued the meeting. I said to the chairman, ‘I wonder if you spoke harshly to the minister’ and he said, ‘Not at all’. All the statements he made at that time were directed at politicians.”
‘EKREM PRESIDENT RETURNED THE WORD ‘IDIOT’ TO THE PERSON WHO SAID IT’
After Ongun, Imamoğlu’s campaign director Necati Özkan was heard as a witness. Özkan said, “We were at the meeting on the day of the incident. Soylu’s inappropriate statements were conveyed to us. Ekrem President said that Soylu should be responded to. After the meeting, Ekrem President returned the word “idiot” to the person who said it.
REQUEST FOR SOYLU TO BE HEARD AS A WITNESS
Upon İmamoğlu’s statement that what he meant by ‘idiot’ was Süleyman Soylu, the CD containing Soylu’s statement was heard in the courtroom. Imamoğlu’s lawyer Kemal Polat demanded that Soylu be heard as a witness.
PROSECUTOR REPEATED HIS FINAL OPINION
The prosecutor, who was asked about the requests, said, “We have no request for the hearing of expert witnesses.” The prosecutor also said that he did not have a request for Süleyman Soylu to be heard as a witness regarding the content of the monitored CD and repeated his final opinion on the merits.
The court rejected all of the requests in the hearing.
