04.03.2025 22:31
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) President Ekrem İmamoğlu reacted strongly to the arrest of Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler on charges of corruption in a tender. İmamoğlu stated, "If the same actions were taken against an AK Party mayor today, and Ekrem İmamoğlu did not participate in his defense in court, he would be a coward."
```html
The Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), Ekrem İmamoğlu, met with 961 neighborhood muhtars serving in the city for iftar. İmamoğlu reacted strongly to the arrest of Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler in the investigation of tender rigging.
İMAMOĞLU'S STRONG REACTION TO KÖSELER'S ARREST
İmamoğlu said: "Now, someone puts a file on the table as they please, after putting that file, an investigation is opened, it has become a tradition, at four or five in the morning, houses are raided, 65-70 years old, the genuine people of that neighborhood, that district... Most recently in Beykoz, our Mayor Alaattin Köseler is taken from his home, and then, as if it were a tradition, as if it were a custom, he is arrested. What is it? 'You stay in prison, we will accuse you, you try to prove your innocence there.' This is not justice. This is clearly injustice. There is no other definition for it. I say it very clearly.
"THOSE WHO DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN HIS DEFENSE IN COURT ARE COWARDS"
Look, dear friends; I have never been someone who sits back and watches what is happening from a distance. I am 53 years old. If someone is treated unfairly, unlawfully; I rush to their door. I do not look at their party. If the same actions were done to an AK Party mayor today, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who does not participate in his defense in court, is a coward. There cannot be such a perspective. If it is done to someone else, it is law; if it is done to you, it is lawlessness. There cannot be such a thing. Look, this country has suffered from this. We are against such an understanding. There cannot be such a judiciary. In an environment where politics directs the judiciary as it wishes, there cannot be peace in the country. Where there is no peace, there is no capital. Where there is no capital, there is no production. Where there is no production, there is no prosperity, no wealth. We can only talk about poverty. The essence of the matter is justice. The religion of the state is justice. What a sacred saying, isn't it? The religion of the state is justice. Such a beautiful saying, such a sacred trust for us. Let the person live so that the state lives. What is it? 'Let those who are not from me not live. Let those who are not from me be eliminated.'
```