This is just bullying

Kayhan Ayhan

The 17th hearing of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) case, in which 402 people, including İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, are on trial, took place yesterday. A total of 20 defendants have presented their defences so far in the case. Tension arose between the trial prosecutor and Ekrem İmamoğlu during the hearing. When İmamoğlu described the prosecutor’s remarks as “thuggery”, the prosecutor replied, “If you overstep your bounds, we will make you aware of your limits.”

In the hearings held in the courtroom opposite the Marmara Closed Prison, organised by the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, a total of 20 defendants have presented their defences to date, and the court has ordered the release of 18 of them. Following the decision to merge the case with the Beyoğlu file, the number of detainees rose to 92, whilst the total number of defendants increased to 414, including five accused who are also complainants.

The trial prosecutor asked whether Ekrem İmamoğlu’s statement, made as the previous day’s hearing was ending, that “The prosecution is the only criminal organisation”, was accurate. He then said, “Know your place; if you overstep your bounds, we will make you aware of them.” İmamoğlu responded to the prosecutor’s outburst by saying, “That’s thuggery.”

HOW IT WAS RECORDED

As the prosecutor said, “Do not address me as ‘you’! I am insisting,” İmamoğlu responded, “Who are you looking at, for heaven’s sake? It’s not Mr Ekrem! What’s the matter? Who are you looking at? Did you write the indictment insistently?”

Following the tension, Hayrettin Berksoy, the lawyer for Emrah Yüksel, an IT staff member at the IBB, stated that evidence favourable to his client had been interpreted against him, and noted that the National Cyber Incident Response Centre (USOM) was accusing people as if it were under the prosecutor’s authority. Berksoy emphasised that whilst the indictment claimed the ballot box data had been disseminated by his client, Emrah Yüksel, the data had never actually reached him. He also pointed out that one could not register for the ‘İstanbul Senin’ app without reading the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) texts, asking, “How were personal data recorded in breach of the law?”

During Emrah Yüksel’s cross-examination, Ekrem İmamoğlu’s lawyer, Hasan Fehmi Demir, also asked questions. Lawyer Demir recalled that, according to the indictment, USOM officials had initiated a technical investigation on 20 May 2025 following instructions from the Chief Prosecutor’s Office. He also drew attention to the fact that a leak occurred six days after this intervention, on 26 May 2025. The lawyer posed the question: “Does the fact that this was published on ‘Dark Web’ or ‘Darknet’ pages six days after the technical investigation was carried out imply the possibility that it was leaked by those conducting the investigation?”

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Yaptığınız kabadayılık, published in BirGün newspaper on April 8, 2026.