Bans and Restrictions on Ekrem İmamoğlu are Increasing

The bans and restrictions against IMM President and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been detained since March 2025 within the scope of the investigation against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), continue.

İmamoğlu, who could not complete his defense due to the restriction imposed by the court panel on the defense period in the IMM case in the past weeks, was banned while the book titled "Nation is My Witness", in which he included the defense he will make at the hearing, was at the printing stage. The other day, it was revealed that İmamoğlu and other IMM detainees were banned from watching Super League matches on television, which they had previously followed in their wards.

Finally, it was revealed that those detained in the İmamoğlu and İBB case were not allowed to drink tea in the custody section of the new hall where the hearings were held in Silivri. While it was learned that the reason for the practice was "security", it was stated that the families who reacted to the detainees not being able to drink tea during the IMM hearings, which could last up to 15 hours a day, offered to cover all the expenses of the tea to be served to their relatives, but the security units responsible for the prison rejected this offer.

While the reactions against the extended hearing hours in the IMM case continue, the latest restrictions imposed in the courtroom and prison have brought the bans on İmamoğlu and IMM detainees back to the agenda. Following the March 19 operations, which started hours after the cancellation of İmamoğlu's bachelor's degree, the places of duty of 23 judges handling the cases of İmamoğlu, who was facing 15 criminal cases, were changed.

Shortly after his detention and arrest, access to İmamoğlu's X account, which has 10 million followers, was also blocked. İmamoğlu's last used Presidential Candidate Office account was also blocked from access in August. Access to İmamoğlu's YouTube channel, which has 787 thousand subscribers, was also blocked in July.

In the second month of İmamoğlu's detention, within the scope of the chief prosecutor's decision, posters and banners about İmamoğlu were not collected in Istanbul, as well as their use in public transportation vehicles such as metro, metrobus, bus and ferry.

In the following weeks, İmamoğlu's lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was arrested. Prison visits to Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was tried together with his father Hasan İmamoğlu and his son Selim İmamoğlu in the İBB case, also encountered various obstacles. Some mayors and various members of parliament, especially in Istanbul, made public their complaints that their meetings with İmamoğlu were restricted.

'IT IS STOLEN FROM LIVES'

On the other hand, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who shared a get-well message for the former Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, Selçuk Mızraklı, who was released yesterday after being held in prison for seven years, said, "These unlawful acts stole from the lives of people, the future of the cities, and the future of the country; they are still stealing."