30.06.2026 13:50
On the 59th day of the IMM case, Media Inc. Board Chairman Murat Ongun, who was making a defense, compared the indictment to the monster created by Mary Shelley's famous character Dr. Frankenstein. Ongun addressed the court panel, saying, 'This indictment is like the work of Dr. Frankenstein. It is as aggressive and cruel as it is,' and added, 'You will either unleash this monster upon us, or you will destroy this freak in the name of fairness.'
The trial of the İBB case, involving 414 defendants including 59 detainees, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, continues on its 59th day at the 1st Courtroom of Marmara Closed Prison in Silivri, presided over by the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court. In the hearing, detained defendant Murat Ongun, Chairman of the Board of Media AŞ, first made his defense.
"NOW YOU WILL DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THIS MONSTER"
Ongun's defense was marked by his Frankenstein analogy. Ongun stated, "This indictment is like Dr. Frankenstein's creation. It is as aggressive and ruthless as it is. Moreover, the one who created it has abandoned it, perhaps because he is disgusted by his own work. He has gone to Ankara. While going to Ankara, he left this creature in your arms. What is expected of you is to unleash this thing, which we read as an indictment, upon us and cause us harm.
Now you will decide what to do with this monster left in your arms. Either you will unleash it upon us, or you will do what ethics, morality, and, above all, fairness require and destroy this monstrosity. For us, all this time has passed asking, 'Who is the real monster?'"
"HOW STRANGE A THING LAW IS"
Ongun said the following in his defense:
"March 9. The trial of the century began. Debates on procedure and merits, references to precedential decisions... Our heads turn from the defense benches to you, as if watching a tennis match. I say to myself, 'How strange a thing law is.' The same text is interpreted completely differently in different mouths. The Turkish Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Commercial Code, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court decisions fly through the air.
Thanks to the lawyers, one phrase becomes ingrained in our language: 'Article 100 of the Criminal Procedure Code is very clear…' The lawyers call out to the panel like that. I look at you. Apparently, it is not that clear. I say law… What a strange thing it is.
Then I realize that prosecutors and judges have a magic phrase that ends every argument instantly. Two words: 'You can object.' I first encountered this magic phrase during my prosecutorial interrogation. A tremendously effective phrase. The moment 'You can object' is said, silence falls in the room. The phrase has a conclusive effect.
Mr. President, you say it easily, but in our country, objecting is not easy. Behind me sits the mayor of Europe's largest city, the President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, and the presidential candidate of Turkey's largest party. He also objected to someone. The result is well known.
"IN THIS GEOGRAPHY, OBEDIENCE IS PREFERRED"
In this geography, objection is not well-liked. It is not much approved. Instead, obedience is preferred. There is even a saying: 'Obey and be at ease.' A comfortable space. It makes one comfortable.
But for hopeless misfits like us, no matter. We continue to object. To what? Injustice. Inequity. Favoritism. Dual standards. Partisanship. Real corruption. And the result of objecting is here in your presence.
"FOR EXAMPLE, THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SNIFFS, THE ÇEMİŞGEZEK CRIMINAL COURT OF PEACE SCOFFS"
For instance, the Constitutional Court makes a decision. It finds a court ruling wrong and says correct it. This is a clear objection. So what happens? The Constitutional Court, I exaggerate, sniffs, and the Çemişgezek Criminal Court of Peace scoffs.
We saw that the concept of a 'member with special qualifications' does not exist in the penal code. Apparently, it existed in the old Turkish Penal Code which has been repealed. Lawyers object. But the error continues to stand firm.
"WHAT IS EVIDENCE FOR THE CHP MAY NOT BE FOR THE AK PARTY"
Here, we are asked about HTS and base station records as evidence. You are right. Our prosecutors included them in the evidence list. Then I remember the Gaziantep Şehitkamil Municipality investigation. Last September, the prosecutor closed the investigation there. He said, 'Can HTS-base records be evidence?' But we saw that he too was confused for a while. He thought it could be evidence while the Şehitkamil Mayor was in the CHP. When the mayor transferred to the AK Party... He said, 'What evidence, which evidence?'
Again, while thinking to myself, 'how strange a thing law is,' I understood that law in Turkey is no longer a concept. It is a thing. Just a thing. It has lost its universal form and turned into something inexplicable.
"THIS INDICTMENT IS A WORK OF FICTION"
In our country, law has become a 'something' hard to define. Just like in this indictment. Various names have been given to this fictional work officially called an indictment.
It was called 'slanderment.' A correct definition. Chairman Ekrem called it 'promotement.' He is also right. Moreover, with evidence. In turn, I will also make my own definition. But let me say this: Since they cooked this soup... Even if it is bad, they will drink it.
"MY DEFENSE IS CALLED: THE DEFENSE OF DOUBT"
My defense is called the defense of doubt. Doubt is not just the professional anchor of prosecutors. It is primarily the professional anchor of journalists. That is, of my own profession. I will not narrate my CV here. Because after Chairman Ekrem, I am the second person whose entire life is best known, most transparent, always on the media radar, and whose every action is scrutinized with a spotlight.
In my profession, which I started as an intern reporter on March 27, 1996, I worked at the largest institutions we call mainstream media. There was an NTV back then. It didn't even work everywhere. From reporting to management. That's why my network is very broad. Today, in the media divided like two different neighborhoods, I know many journalists from both neighborhoods. All are established names. I also met my journalist brothers and sisters, much younger and more successful than me, during my duty at İBB. I can say I have both old and new friendships.
"THEY CLAIM I GAVE ORDERS TO SONER YALÇIN AND RUŞEN ÇAKIR"
In the indictment, there is Action 19, and journalist elders I know from Ankara are being tried. They supposedly made misleading publications on my orders. Moreover, by taking money from me. The writers of the indictment obviously don't know our profession. Apparently, they think the fish in the pool media are journalists.
If they knew, they would learn that I cannot give orders to my senior colleagues Soner Yalçın, Ruşen Çakır, Şaban Sevinç, or Yavuz Oğhan. However, they would also know that they have the right to pull my ear, scold me, or even give me orders. Especially if I offered to have them make news for money, they would first curse profanely, then kick me out, and if their anger didn't subside, they would speak against İmamoğlu out of spite. And they would be right.
Professional seniority and having them as journalist elders grants them this right. In our profession, a change in professional position does not alter the seniority relationship. In short, contrary to what is written in the indictment, I don't need to have mysterious meetings with Yavuz Oğhan under 11 different lampposts on Barbaros Boulevard. He is my friend. He likes kebab houses. Istanbul is full of kebab houses. If two journalists are to meet, we sit down and talk about everything over a couple of drinks. We have done it before, and we will do it again.
"THE INDICTMENT SHOUTS 'I AM POLITICS'"
Another concept that brings us the truth, like doubt, is correct questions. A correct question is more important than an answer. In this indictment, there are supposedly some answers. We understand that they are not answers, but slander or distortion, only by asking the correct question.
I read the indictment through the lens of "Suspicion + Correct Questions." The result: the indictment is fundamentally flawed from top to bottom.
Moreover, and what is disturbing, is this: The indictment proves that there is a dual legal system in Turkey. It demonstrates that elite and privileged people in our country are not equal before the law with us ordinary mortals. The indictment screams, 'I am engaging in politics.'
When I wrote this last paragraph, the Chief Prosecutor, who is the leader of the writing team, had not yet been appointed as a Minister. When he was appointed, I thought about whether I should abandon the narrative that 'this case is political.' Because I had no stronger evidence to show that the Imamoglu Case is a deeply political one.
Indeed, in his ministerial performance, Mr. Gürlek revealed how genuine a AK Party member he is. Now, what should I do? What should I think? Should I believe the claim that until February, Mr. Minister was an independent, apolitical, unbiased jurist? Or should I think that he internalized the AK Party so much in just one day? It hardly fits the normal course of life.
"THEY ARE SELLING WHAT DOESN'T EXIST"
When I call the indictment 'flawed,' I mean this: Its soul is defective. If we consider the statements or so-called evidence placed within it as limbs of the indictment, they too are defective.
This investigation, which started on the morning of March 19 focused on Medya AŞ, the company with the smallest budget of IBB, had become so absurd by the time it came to light that it included allegations of espionage. Absurdities are not found in cases, but only in political engineering.
There is a rule in propaganda. Things that do not exist are more powerful than things that do. This is called the power of mystery. For example: while tens of millions of people earn wages at the brink of hunger, while industries and sectors experience their worst days in history, while trained human resources who lose hope in the homeland migrate to Western countries, what do we say? The Turkish Century!
They say it because what doesn't exist appears more powerful than what does. What do they say? 'The Investigation of the Century - The Indictment of the Era.' That is the reason for this bold description: It sells what doesn't exist.
"THEY TOLD US ABOUT REAL MADRID, BUT PUT SİİRT KÖY HİZMETLERİ SPOR ON THE FIELD"
Page 72 of the indictment. In the section summarizing the main idea of this indictment, there is an account of the authors regarding Necati Özkan.
I read: 'In the Culture and Media AŞ structure, Necati Özkan, an organization member whom Ekrem İmamoğlu has been in contact with since his tenure as Beylikdüzü mayor, whom he trusts greatly, and who also serves as his political consultant, holds the position of the organization's mentor...'
If the prosecution's finding is correct and justified, the following conclusions naturally arise from this description.
Necati Özkan is part of the organization's Culture-Media AŞ structure. Is that so? No. Necati Özkan is the organization's mentor. Is that so? No.
Necati Özkan is someone who finds solutions to all of the organization's disputes. Frankly, they told us about Real Madrid and put Siirt Köy Hizmetleri Spor on the field.
"THIS INDICTMENT IS MERELY CACOPHONY"
You ask Mr. Necati about the 1+1 apartment he bought, but you don't ask about these things. This strangeness raises suspicion in me.
Mr. Necati gave a statement on October 24, 2025, in the espionage investigation. The indictment came out 18 days later, on November 11.
I wondered, I said, was this indictment written by different hands, with multiple people editing? I couldn't help but think whether someone else we don't know contributed to this text, which lacks harmony. Because if our prosecutors had written it jointly, there would be harmony, but it is merely cacophony.
Mr. President; this reminds me of fiction and stories. There is a story known to the entire world for about 200 years. In this story, someone enslaved by their arrogance becomes so bold as to compare themselves with the Creator. One day, they attempt something reserved only for God: they decide to create a life form. Although highly successful in their work, because they greatly exceed ethical and moral boundaries, the creature they wish to create emerges as a monster, an abomination.
The story I am telling is the horror story written by Mary Shelley, titled Dr. Frankenstein. Yes, Dr. Frankenstein, forgetting the essence of ethics and morality on his path, created an abomination through his arrogance. This indictment is like Dr. Frankenstein's creation: aggressive and merciless like it.
Moreover, the person who brought it into existence, perhaps disgusted by his creation, abandoned it. He went to Ankara. While going to Ankara, he left this creature in your arms. What is expected of you is to unleash this thing, which we call an indictment, upon us and make it harm us. Now, you will decide what to do with this monster thrown into your arms.
Either you will unleash it upon us, or you will do what ethics, morality, and, more nobly, fairness require and destroy this abomination. For us, all this time has been spent asking one question: 'Who is the real monster?'"
Muart Ongun continues his defense.