11.03.2026 10:30
The third hearing day has begun in the case opened as part of the "corruption" investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), in which 402 defendants, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, are being tried. After two tense days in the hearing in Silivri, the defense statements of the defendants are expected to be taken in the third session.
The third hearing day of the trial opened as part of the "corruption" investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The trial, in which hundreds of defendants, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, are being tried, continues at the Marmara Closed Prison Campus in Silivri.
A total of 402 defendants, 107 of whom are in custody, are appearing before the judge in the case opened based on an indictment consisting of approximately 4,000 pages. The indictment requests a prison sentence of up to 2,000 years for Ekrem İmamoğlu.
During the first two days of the trial, which is planned to last a total of 45 days, tense moments frequently occurred in the courtroom. In the second session, only the detained defendants, former CHP Member of Parliament Aykut Erdoğdu, and his lawyers made their defense.
On the third day of the trial, the court is expected to continue taking the defendants' defenses. The hearing is ongoing in the Marmara Closed Prison Courtroom in Silivri.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE SECOND DAY?
The identification check of lawyers at the door of the courtroom, ordered by the presiding judge, caused tension. While the lawyers stated that this situation was against the law of advocacy, Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Özden Kaboğlu decided after meeting with the committee that lawyers could enter the hearing with a verbal declaration instead of an identification check.
"ARE YOU GOING TO TAPE MY MOUTH?"
After İmamoğlu was brought in, the gendarmerie placed a chair in front of him to prevent him from going to the podium. İmamoğlu said, "Are you going to tape my mouth? Who are you blocking? The judge will come and explain why he put it there. I am standing, I am not sitting. There is no such order. Judge, it is a disgrace for you to do this. It has stuck to your forehead."
DISPUTE BETWEEN THE PRESIDING JUDGE AND İMAMOĞLU
Presiding Judge: That is your discretion.
İmamoğlu: Who did you receive instructions from?
Presiding Judge: We did not receive instructions from anyone.
İmamoğlu: If you are going to act as a judge, if you are going to represent the esteemed Turkish judiciary, you must also defend our rights. I came to protect you as well.
Presiding Judge: Let's not get into unnecessary polemics, Mr. Ekrem, I do not need your protection.
İmamoğlu: Why are you afraid? I might call out to my lawyer, why are you not allowing it?
Presiding Judge: This is not a place for you to call out to your lawyer. We have not been able to conduct the trial since yesterday because of you.
Upon this, the lawyers began to chant slogans.
Presiding Judge: Why are you shouting? Nothing changes when you shout this much; I can hear you anyway. The purpose of the application there was to prioritize lawyers with power of attorney. We received complaints from the lawyers with power of attorney yesterday. We consulted with the bar president and reversed our decision.
The hearing began around 11:05 with identification checks after the discussion. After the identification check was completed, the summary of the indictment began to be read.
"I THINK YOU NEED TO LISTEN BEFORE MAKING YOUR DECISION"
Before the defenses began, İmamoğlu took the floor and said:
"This is one of the most important political trials in the history of the Republic. Of course, you will make a decision on a procedure and implement it. You mentioned a list. A part of it was published yesterday, then it was removed from the screen in that chaos, and then the lawyers somehow obtained it. This is your decision, but I think you need to listen before making your decision. You did not do this; it is your discretion, but I believe that saying 'I do not listen to you' or 'I do not give you the right to speak' is not in line with the esteemed Turkish judiciary. If Turkish justice is 'Justice is the foundation of the property,' and if it is the foundation of the state, then with your perspective there, no one here is guilty. You are performing a sacred duty on behalf of every friend here, which is to be independent, fair, and ultimately obliged to make a decision. A sacred duty. The mayor of 16 million Istanbulites is here, in front of you, in your presence. To say 'I do not listen to your suggestion' creates a trust issue for this court from the start. Ultimately, who can interfere with the decision you will make there? You will make a decision, and you will say, 'I made this decision, I will do it with such a list.' Of course, everyone will comply with this, or somehow the order here will work, but saying 'I do not listen to İmamoğlu, I do not want to hear this suggestion' will create problems for you.
"I AM THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE PARTY THAT WILL BE IN POWER IN THE FIRST ELECTION"
There are dozens of our friends here who do not know why they are here. Just yesterday, there is a person who just got out of the hospital... What are you testing them with? This cannot be. It is called an indictment. We are facing a system under pressure. My purpose in coming here is not to occupy the podium. We are polite people. I am the presidential candidate of the first party of this country. I am the presidential candidate of the party that will be in power in the first election.
If the presidential candidate does not speak here, the world is watching us; this cannot happen. You will not lose anything by giving me 15-20 minutes of speaking time. Otherwise, I have no way to hold a rally here. The decision will already come with you for a lifetime. Just like in the past. Please organize the trial process. Every page of this case is İmamoğlu... I will speak at the beginning and at the end... You should listen to İmamoğlu, not just first or last; you should listen to him in between as well. You will still make the decision you know best at the end.
"THE PROSECUTOR WHO LOOKS LIKE A POLITICIAN CALLED THIS 'THE CORRUPTION OF THE CENTURY'"
The prosecutor who looks like a politician called this 'the corruption of the century.' If you do not listen to us, it will not work; I will be a victim... He called us 'the corrupt of the century'... Can there be such shamelessness in a century? The court is the place where a person feels the safest. I know the value of the soldier and the flag. Why are you putting us against each other? My heart does not accept the fact that our soldiers are put in this situation here. I believe that there should be multiple speaking rights on behalf of Ekrem İmamoğlu throughout this process, both at the beginning and at the end. Because I think you will need Ekrem İmamoğlu's comments for you to understand the issue well.
"JUDGE, PLEASE BE PATIENT, YOU WILL JUDGE US FOR 12 YEARS"
The presiding judge intervened, saying, "Mr. Ekrem, let's wrap it up. Please take the request." İmamoğlu continued:
"Judge, please be patient. You will judge us for 12 years... This is what the prosecution says. Let our gendarmerie friends perform their duties elsewhere; let us conduct the process here with dignity. Do not do this... We are in 2026. Look around us; it is a fireball. War is turning over our heads. We are in the blessed month of Ramadan. Turkey has only one understanding of leadership, peace at home, peace in the world. That peace is achieved through fair, equal, and free struggle.
"I PRESENT MY RIGHT TO MULTIPLE SPEAKING TO YOUR DISCRETION"
My last word is this. We are in the blessed month of Ramadan. My election was canceled while I was going to iftar during Ramadan, and that was done by the President elected by the will of this nation, with his own mouth.
My diploma was revoked during Ramadan. Later, during Ramadan, my house was raided immediately after the pre-dawn meal. Now we are holding a hearing here during Ramadan. Look at what is being experienced and lived during Ramadan. This list you have made is incorrect, the application is wrong. I present my right to multiple testimonies to your discretion.
INTERIM DECISION TO BE MADE AT THE END OF APRIL
Before the defense of CHP member Aykut Erdoğdu, the Court President explained how the hearings would continue. Accordingly, after each detained defendant, their lawyers will also present their defense. The hearings will continue until the eve of the next week (March 19). An interim decision will be made at the end of April to evaluate the detention.
"WHICH BAG WITH MONEY? SHOW ME ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE"
The only defendant who made a defense during the hearing, Aykut Erdoğdu, used the following statements in his defense:
"I have been alone in a cell for about 10 months. There is a 4,000-page indictment, and there are 1,000 pages of annexes. I am alone in that cell. Every day when I go out, I am searched down to my socks. They gave me an indictment that covered half of the cell. I read my section. Mr. President, you are making a decision on behalf of the Turkish nation, and I have great respect for the Turkish nation. That is why I have great respect for your committee as well. I cannot close the front of my jacket because I do not have a jacket. Let me explain this briefly. We live in such prison conditions. One aspect of the restriction of our right to defense is this. I was granted permission to use the computer room for 2 hours a week. A total of 8 hours. What can I read, Mr. President? What should I read, which annex should I look at, which contract should I check, which claim should I examine? We came here, and we could not understand what was happening in the tension. Take this as an observation, not as an accusation. I understand, no one has seen or experienced such a trial. Now in the indictment, a person named Ertan Yıldız claims that I took money and that the money was delivered to Fatih Keleş. You have four pieces of evidence. The first is the statement of Ertan Yıldız, the second is the statement of Serkan Aydın, the third is the base records, and the fourth is a bank receipt. An indictment has been prepared from four pieces of evidence. Do you think this person said these things to get out of prison, or to help justice? An employee of a company withdrew some money. I don’t know why he withdrew it. What does this have to do with me? The third is the phone base records. Where is the phone base record? There is one phone base record at a hotel. That hotel is a city hotel where I have stayed and worked for 5 years, which I use as a kind of office. Where is the second base record? At the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, in Fatih. I am the deputy of that region, I am the deputy chairman of that party. Mr. President, can a person be arrested with these pieces of evidence? I was arrested. Every day on television, it is said, 'He carried money in a bag.' Which bag with money? Show me one piece of evidence. Show me a photo of one bag. Who carries 1 million 250 thousand dollars to the Metropolitan Municipality building, a place with a thousand cameras, where you have to pass through X-ray? Would you believe this?
"SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO GET OUT OF PRISON WRITES A 12-EPISODE SERIES"
In response to the Court President's question, "You said that Yıldız's statements are slander. What kind of enmity do you have with Ertan Yıldız?" Erdoğdu said, "Mr. President, someone who wants to get out of prison writes a 12-episode series. Everything is inconsistent. Supposedly, I will call and say, 'I will bring you money in a bag. Where are you?' I will come to a place where all the cameras are in the municipality, where most of the staff are from the AK Party, with 1 million 350 thousand dollars. Serkan Aydın is a fourth-degree cancer patient. He is already in his last days. I cannot question why he could say such a thing. What can I say for a sick person? I can say for Ertan; he said it to get out of prison; but I cannot say anything for him," he stated.