02.05.2025 13:50
AK Party Kayseri Deputy Şaban Çopuroğlu mocked the statements made by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu regarding the cameras being turned off at the hotel where he attended a meeting. During a television program he participated in, Çopuroğlu covered the cameras with tape. He stated, "The opposition is mocking people's intelligence with their statements."
Images of the cameras being taped at the hotel where Ekrem İmamoğlu went, as part of the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), have emerged. AK Party Kayseri Deputy Şaban Çopuroğlu, while participating in a program on the national broadcaster TV Kayseri, mocked İmamoğlu by saying that he came with a bag that he claimed was a 'jammer' and taped the cameras.
"WE TOOK THE JAMMER-LIKE BAG WITH US" In a statement regarding the issue, Deputy Şaban Çopuroğlu said that the statements made by the opposition were mocking people's intelligence, stating, "Yesterday we participated in a program on a television channel, and there was an incident there. There is nothing more natural than explaining what our party has done and what the opposition has done on a television channel where we had the chance to address the citizens. While explaining that, we thought we should tape the camera because we will drink tea soon, and we didn't want it to spill on us. Then we asked the friends for the bag, and we took the jammer-like bag with us. Then we said, 'Why not two, it should be two.'
"AFTER THE BROADCAST, WE STARTED RECEIVING CALLS" The leader of the opposition party says, attributing to the police organization; 'Sir, when you drink soup, it might spill on you, let's turn off the camera for precaution,' they say. This means mocking the people's intelligence with a very short explanation. The camera is turned off while drinking soup; what will happen if you eat tzatziki, what will happen if you drink ayran? Will it stay open then? While these processes are being carried out, people may or may not vote for that party, but we truly believe that mocking people's intelligence is very wrong. In this context, we wanted to bring people's sensitivities regarding this issue to the forefront. After the broadcast, we started receiving calls from both within and outside the city.
God willing, we will continue to speak the truths we know in the upcoming process. It is very beneficial to know this; our President says, 'We have no problem with their style of governance, we are satisfied.' Our efforts will continue in the upcoming process to implement the practices we believe to be correct, in terms of the country's growth and strengthening. I think it is our most natural right to respond when such things come up," he said.