Ekrem İmamoğlu used the 101st day of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) trial to direct a message at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying a leader cannot claim legitimacy while keeping his political rivals imprisoned in Edirne and Silivri, according to birgun.net. Reporting from Silivri, Cumhuriyet said İmamoğlu had completed a defense that lasted 21 hours.
According to birgun.net, İmamoğlu's remark was aimed squarely at Erdoğan and framed the jailing of opponents as incompatible with legitimate authority. Euronews carried the same line, summarizing his message as: if your rivals are sitting in prison, you cannot be legitimate.
Coverage of the day varied by outlet. Haber 7 reported that İmamoğlu made a remark in court about the Turkish national anthem, the İstiklal Marşı, describing it as written for him; the outlet characterized the comment as a courtroom gaffe. Cumhuriyet quoted him closing his defense with the words "your era is over, victory is near," as rendered in its headline.
The trial, centered on the İBB, has now run past one hundred sessions, and İmamoğlu's extended defense marks one of its most closely followed stages. Hürriyet also reported that Özel put forward a "jury" proposal, though the material available does not specify the details of that suggestion.
What to watch next is how the court responds to the completed defense and whether the case moves toward a verdict.
