90th day of the IMM trial: Ekrem İmamoğlu's reaction to the prosecution

The IMM trial with 436 defendants, 57 of whom are detained, including the elected Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, continues on its 90th day, being held in the new courtroom of the Marmara Closed Prison in Silivri.

Yesterday, 11 undetained defendants made their defense, and 286 of 325 undetained defendants completed their defense. As part of the second hearing, which started on August 17, the defense statements of 39 more people will be taken.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT GAVE THE "DATE"

At yesterday's hearing, the court president announced that they aim to complete the second hearing, which is planned to be completed at the end of September, by October 15.

The presiding judge also announced that the defense of the 6 people who were included in the file as detainees with the additional indictment against Ağaç AŞ will begin on Thursday, while a detention review is expected to be conducted on the file later in the day.

On yesterday's hearing, the last defense was made by IMM Survey Engineer Yakup Öner, one of the important names in the file, who was released after giving effective remorse statements 7 times. Öner's interrogation could not be completed.

CUMHURİYET REPORTS FROM SİLİVRİ

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case is being followed by Cumhuriyet.

Here is what happened moment by moment in Silivri...

11.50 | THE HEARING HAS STARTED: REACTION FROM İMAMOĞLU TO THE PROSECUTION

The hearing started after the detained and non-detained defendants, lawyers, journalists, spectators and the court panel took their places.

While the hearing continued with the interrogation of Yakup Öner, Ekrem İmamoğlu took the first floor to ask questions.

İmamoğlu used the following statements:

"I am calling out to our esteemed people. Yesterday, the prosecution made a perception process by adding together the figures they wrote down and saying 40-50 million dollars, as if they had determined and identified a corruption figure here. Our municipality went down in history with the Beylikdüzü and Istanbul model.

It has won the heart of our nation with its municipality that has reached indescribable values, brought values to the public, served the public, for the public, alongside public-minded citizens. In Istanbul, we experienced the great honor and pride of serving not only the voters but also 16 million people with qualified staff who made history, not the interests of 3-5 people and a handful of spouses and friends. "We made history by spending the nation's money on the nation, from infrastructure to superstructure."

While the presiding judge requested İmamoğlu to conclude his words with a question, İmamoğlu concluded his words as follows:

"While the government, which set its sights on all our assets, tried to prevent us by taking over the Galata Tower, the Basilica Cistern, the municipality's buildings on the Bosphorus, Gezi Park, even the Saraçhane building and hundreds more, and trying to prevent us by charging us with tax debt and SSI debt, we continued to provide services to Istanbul and Beylikdüzü. We reached the peak in service while zeroing out our tax debt and SSI debt. We wrote history for the benefit of the public. The Istanbul model written God is witness, the nation is witness to our 12-year success, transcending this city, this city, beautiful Istanbul, and providing magnificent services in every region of Türkiye, especially in the earthquake zone.

I reject the defendant's statements created here with rumors and threats, the perception operations carried out based on this, the defendant's behavior, and those who wrote the scenario that created all these. "Our nation can rest assured, Mr. President, not a single illicit penny has passed through our throats."