Kayhan Ayhan
The 47th hearing of the IBB (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) trial, in which 414 people—68 of whom are in pre-trial detention—including CHP’s Presidential Candidate and Mayor of IBB Ekrem İmamoğlu are being tried, has taken place.
The hearing, held by the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court in the courtroom opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Execution Institution, was attended by several detained individuals, including Mayor of IBB Ekrem Imamoğlu, Mayor of Şişli Resul Emrah Şahan, Mayor of Beylikdüzü Mehmet Murat Çalık, former CHP Member of Parliament Aykut Erdoğdu, Advisor to the Mayor of IBB and Chairman of the Board of Media Inc. Murat Ongun, President of the IBB Sports Club Fatih Keleş, and Imamoğlu’s lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan.
Several defendants pending trial without arrest and their lawyers also attended the hearing, while some CHP Members of Parliament and relatives of the detained defendants were present as observers.
While the detainees entered the courtroom to applause, Ekrem Imamoğlu was again greeted with great enthusiasm. The trial commenced with the defence of Elif Atayman, the former General Manager of Media Inc.
Elif Atayman stated the following in her testimony:
"Certain that I had committed no crime whatsoever and was not a member of any criminal organisation, I spent 15 months of my life under very difficult conditions, without knowing or understanding the allegations against me. When I was first arrested, I was kept in a solitary cell in Silivri. Later, they transferred me to a ward, but immediately afterwards, on the eve of the Eid holiday, they took me to Afyon following a grueling journey. This journey lasted 8 hours, in a cage-like cabin whilst I was handcuffed. When I arrived at the prison, my wrists were bruised. No result came from the criminal complaint I filed either. I slept on the floor for days in a crowded ward where most people were substance abusers and dealers."
Emphasising further that she had committed no crime, Atayman said:
"As my career is in the fields of communication and media, an offer was made after the 2019 local elections for me to serve as the general manager at Media Inc. Relying on my industry experience, I began my duty with great excitement. When I took office, we determined that Media Inc. had suffered massive losses due to poor management during the previous administration's term. Your panel will see these findings in the Turkish Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) audit reports for the relevant years. With the restructuring process initiated, the foundations were laid for breakthroughs that would grow the company and turn a profit in the future. Throughout the 21 months I served as general manager, I worked to compensate for this loss and to collect receivables remaining from the previous term. In fact, just 6 months after I took office, the pandemic began. No one could even properly go to the company or work. In other words, I was only able to work actively within the business for 6 months, dealing with rectifying the damages caused by poor management."
Following the interrogation, Ekrem Imamoğlu took the floor to ask questions. Addressing the panel of judges, Imamoğlu expressed the following:
"We acted with great sensitivity regarding women executives and suddenly appointed 4-5 times more women executives. For the first time in the history of the IBB, female deputy secretary-generals served—I draw your attention to its history. I believe that the indescribable cruelty inflicted upon Elif Hanım [Ms Elif] and some of our other friends has a foundation that harbours violence against women and a psychological hostility towards women. I both condemn this cruelty inflicted upon innocent women and genuinely view it as if it were done to my own mother, sister, or daughter; I curse it and declare that I will follow this matter for the rest of my life."
YOU WERE LYING WHEN THE CAR WAS BROKEN DOWN TOO
Following the recess given by the court, Ekrem Imamoğlu shouted "Full steam ahead" while walking downstairs. At that moment, he stumbled due to an intervention by the gendarmerie personnel and looked as though he was about to fall. Imamoğlu said, "Who pushed me from behind? I almost fell." Addressing the commander there, İmamoğlu said, "You were lying when the car was broken down too."
Addressing the Colonel, Imamoğlu said, "They pushed me from behind in an uncontrolled manner, Commander." When the Colonel replied, "I did not see it," Imamoğlu responded, "I am informing you."
THEY HAVE NO BASIS
Following Atayman, the turn for defence came to Media Inc. General Manager Fatoş Pınar Türker.
Stating that she received a phone call from IBB Human Resources at the beginning of 2021 and that Murat Ongun wished to meet her, Türker expressed that they subsequently reached an agreement and she commenced her duties. Indicating that as of 2021, Media Inc. had become a company that doubled its turnover, Türker said, "There is an abstract allegation in the indictment claiming that the treasury of Media Inc. was emptied. Given that the company is not at a loss and is not bogged down in debt, I do not know on what basis they wrote this." In her defence, Türker noted the expressions, "When I entered Vatan Emniyet (Istanbul Police Headquarters on Vatan Street), I thought I would probably never get out of here and would die. A cell in prison is better than Vatan Emniyet."
HOW CAN ONE SAY THIS TO A MOTHER?
Türker stated that on the day following their arrival in Silivri, the prosecutor summoned her to his office and threatened her with her children. Türker stated:
"I said, 'Mr Prosecutor, I have told everything I know.' He said, 'Look here, you go and pack your things. I will send a car for you from Çağlayan [Justice Palace]. You will come, give your statement, and from there you can go to your children.'
And I said: 'Prosecutor, I will give a statement again if you want me to. Let me ask my lawyer.' Now, he is the prosecutor in front of me, it is not as if I can say 'No, sir', and frankly, I don't know either, it is the first time we have been arrested. He went like this: 'You are still telling me about a lawyer. With this mindset, you will never see your children again.' He said, 'You are single, aren't you?' He said, 'Well, the Social Services will take your children then.' Huh, can one say this to a mother? They threatened me with my children."
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Çocuklarımla tehdit edildim, published in BirGün newspaper on June 9, 2026.
