Law of enmity is being applied
The health condition of detained İBB Deputy Secretary General Polat remains serious. His lawyer, Erdem, highlighted that Polat's blood pressure continues to remain high and stated, “At the very least, judicial control measures should be applied.”
The health condition of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Secretary General Mahir Polat, who was arrested as part of the government’s judiciary-led “urban consensus” operation against İBB, remains serious. His lawyer, Erkam Erdem, noted that Polat suffers from high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, claustrophobia, and has a history of cancer treatment. Erdem, who visited Polat recently, stated that his hypertension persists.
Although permission has been granted for Polat to continue his treatment in a fully equipped hospital, the transfer has been delayed due to the Eid holiday and is now scheduled for Monday. Erdem said, “Considering Mr Polat’s health conditions, at the very least, judicial control measures should be applied.”
STILL SUFFERING FROM HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Erdem recalled that Polat had been taken to hospital on 29 March due to high blood pressure and underwent an angiogram: “After returning to prison, another acute episode occurred. His blood pressure spiked to 24 over 11, which is critical. In addition to his regular medication, further treatment was administered. Despite this, blood pressure measurements in the morning and evening remained high.”
Erdem also explained that due to these spikes in blood pressure, the issue of hospital transfer kept recurring. “The day before yesterday, his blood pressure rose again and he had to take a sublingual tablet and rest to bring it down.”
The angiogram revealed “slow flow and plaque buildup in the capillaries,” a condition that worsens particularly during long periods of immobility. “This level of hypertension can seriously damage the brain, heart, and especially the kidneys” Erdem said. “He is far from being fully recovered. In our last conversation, he said: ‘I’ll try to hang on until Monday.’ He recently questioned whether he could endure prison conditions, as even the one-hour transfer in a closed van while handcuffed is extremely challenging for him.”
APPEALS FILED
Erdem stated that following Polat’s hospitalisation for hypertension, they renewed their appeal against the arrest. “Aside from our legal defence in the main case, we emphasised Mr Polat’s health condition in our appeal. We said, ‘We see no reason for pre-trial detention here. But if the court insists, then judicial control measures should be considered as a proportional alternative to arrest. Given Mr Polat’s condition, he cannot stay in prison.’ We renewed this request with an appeal we filed on Thursday.”
‘HE SAID HE FELT HONOURED’
Finally, Erdem shared Polat’s feelings about the public’s support: “In our last visit, Mr Polat spoke about the public support he saw on social media. He said he felt honoured by the backing of citizens and that it gave him great moral strength. ‘I’m grateful to everyone,’ he said. ‘It means a lot to me that our work within İBB is being referenced and appreciated.’”
APPEALS FILED AGAINST THE DETENTION OF ONGUN AND ŞAHAN
An appeal has been lodged against the detention of Murat Ongun, advisor to İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Chair of the Board of MEDYA AŞ, and Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who was arrested as part of the “urban consensus” investigation into İBB and subsequently replaced by a government-appointed trustee.
ALLEGATIONS REJECTED
In the petition submitted by Ongun’s lawyers to İstanbul’s 5th Criminal Court of Peace, it was argued that the allegations were not based on concrete evidence and that the arrest was made on the basis of unlawfully obtained material. The lawyers stated that the charges, which rely on secret witness testimonies, are contradicted by HTS (mobile signal) records, which prove that Ongun was not present at the locations in question. They also rejected claims that Ongun and the other detained individuals held meetings in specific locations to make decisions regarding public tenders.
CALL FOR ŞAHAN’S RELEASE
Lawyers Hüseyin Ersöz and Enes Ermaner submitted an appeal against the arrest of Resul Emrah Şahan, the now-removed mayor of Şişli, to the Criminal Court of First Instance. The petition stated that, with regard to the “urban consensus” investigation, “there is not even the slightest indication or piece of evidence that could suggest the existence of a secret agreement.”
The appeal described the accusations as “entirely speculative and forced interpretations,” adding: “Our client has never served in any of the CHP’s decision-making bodies with regard to the Turkey Alliance strategy that the CHP successfully implemented in elections.”
Regarding the claim that Şahan had contact with former HDP Deputy Co-Chair Azad Barış who is currently a fugitive in the same investigation the petition addressed the related HTS data: “It has been recorded by law enforcement that our client made a total of 17 phone calls lasting 710 seconds between 3 December 2019 and 22 March 2020 with Azad Barış. A simple calculation based on HTS data shows that the total call time amounts to about 12 minutes, with each call averaging less than one minute, spread across roughly 3.5 months. This corresponds to about one call per week. Therefore, the claim in the detention justification of 'frequent and ongoing contact' is not supported.” The appeal concluded with a request for Resul Emrah Şahan’s release.
Note: This text has been translated from the original Turkish version titled Düşman hukuku uygulanıyor, published in BirGün newspaper on April 4, 2025.
