After an Istanbul court sentenced the mayor to more than two and a half years in prison on accusations of insulting Supreme Electoral Council members, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that the courts will fix any errors in an appeal process.
Erdogan made his first direct remarks following the court’s sentencing of Ekrem Imamoglu, a significant opposition figure and possible Erdogan rival, to two years and seven months in prison as well as a political ban on Wednesday.
Imamoglu criticized a decision to call off the first round of the municipal elections, which he won and used to become mayor of Istanbul, and was later charged with insulting public officials. His victory was perceived as a setback for Erdogan and the AK Party.
“A final court ruling has not yet been rendered. The Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation will hear the matter, according to Erdogan. “Any error on the part of the courts will be fixed. They are attempting to entice us into the game.
Erdogan said that he didn’t give a damn who runs against him in the polls the next year.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Istanbul on Friday to protest the conviction and political ban, criticizing the Turkish government in advance of elections next year that will be a major test of Erdogan’s 20-year rule.
Erdogan said at a rally in Mardin, in southeast Turkey, “There have been many court verdicts that we have sharply criticized ourselves, but it doesn’t give anyone the right to insult judges or to disobey court orders.”
The phrase was described as “political and unlawful” by Imamoglu himself.
Imamoglu was put on trial for slander due to remarks he made in a speech following the June 2019 mayoral elections in Istanbul in which he called those who had declared the initial vote invalid three months earlier “fools.” The initial victory of Imamoglu was not acknowledged by the AK Party.
Critics claim that Erdogan has bent Turkey’s judiciary to his will in order to punish his detractors. The government claims to be impartial.
