The mayor of Istanbul raged against the Erdogan regime during his first appearance in court after being arrested by the Turkish government last month.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the most prominent rival of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, appeared in court Friday to deny the charge that he made threats against the chief prosecutor of Istanbul and asserted that the trial was a politically motivated sham.
“I am here because I won three elections in Istanbul — a city someone once called ‘my beloved Istanbul,’ a city about which they said ‘who wins Istanbul wins Turkey,’ and a city they thought they owned,” Imamoglu said.
“I am here because I am the president in the hearts of 86 million people,” Imamoglu added.
His quotations about the political importance of Istanbul were a reference to previous comments made by Erdogan and the ruling AK Party.
The Republican People’s Party, which nominated Imamoglu as a presidential candidate, claimed that Erdogan and his government ordered the mayor’s arrest last month to prevent him from beating the president in this spring’s election.
The Friday trial addressed charges of threatening and attempting to intimidate Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, but Imamoglu is also facing a slew of other charges from the government, including running a criminal organization, corruption, extortion, bribery, and supporting terrorism.
Hundreds of demonstrations in support of the Istanbul mayor have popped up across the country since his arrest, with the majority of outcry inside the city.
Thousands of people at those protests have been arrested by riot police and government authorities, some for participating in the protests and others for simply posting about their anger on social media.
International bodies are demanding Imamoglu be released and question the democratic integrity of Turkey under Erdogan’s government.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE PRO-TURKEY BUT NOT PRO-HAMAS?
“The arrest of the mayor İmamoğlu and the protesters give rise to the questions regarding Turkey’s adherence to its long-established democratic traditions,” European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said. “The rights of elected officials as well as right of peaceful demonstration need to be fully respected.”
As a member state of the Council of Europe and a candidate for membership in the European Union, Turkey is under much pressure to keep its domestic politics palatable for its Western allies.
