Türkiye
The CHP congress trial, in which Ekrem İmamoğlu is a defendant, is adjourned to 18 November
Developing
- What happened
- The ninth hearing in the case over the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress was adjourned.
- Why it matters
- The case questions the legitimacy of the congress that elected Özgür Özel as party leader.
- What’s next
- The hearing resumes on 18 November; the judge said no further excuses will be accepted.
How this story developed
- 14:38First report
- 14:382nd source
- 14:38Confirmed
- 14:38+4 outlets in 40 min
- 14:38First reportHürriyet
- 14:382nd sourceCumhuriyet
- 14:38ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 14:38Latest+4 outlets in 40 minSabah, Sözcü, Medyascope and 1 more
Full story
What happened at the hearing
The ninth hearing in the case alleging irregularities at the main opposition CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress, held in 2023 and at which Özgür Özel was elected party leader, took place at Ankara's 26th Criminal Court of First Instance. Twelve defendants are on trial, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from office as mayor of Istanbul.
According to Hürriyet and Sabah, defendants Baki Aydöner and Erkan Aydın attended the hearing along with lawyers for the parties. The prosecutor repeated the closing opinion on the merits. According to A Haber, requests to widen the inquiry were rejected.
The defendants' defence
According to Hürriyet, Erkan Aydın, who joined the CHP in 2013 and said he had been involved in politics for 25 or 26 years, told the court he was neither a member of parliament nor a mayor at the time of the congress. Aydın said that after the congress CHP leader Özgür Özel named him the party's candidate for mayor of Osmangazi, so he had no reason to take sides in the vote.
Responding to the prosecutor's opinion, Aydın said he attended the congress only as a party member and had no power to give anyone a post or position. According to Hürriyet, he said he had no phone contact or call records with the others named in the indictment, and asked to be acquitted.
“If they stood next to me, I wouldn't recognise them. The only one I know is Ekrem İmamoğlu.”
Erkan Aydın, Hürriyet(translated)
Baki Aydöner said he had spent 16 months in prison and was released two months ago. Arguing that the witness statements against him contradicted each other, he said the real reason he was jailed was his closeness to İmamoğlu.
“I am a party member. How can I be put on trial for coming to the congress?”
Baki Aydöner, Hürriyet(translated)
Aydöner said he had never seen the witness Tolgahan Erdoğan, did not stay at the hotel where the Istanbul delegates allegedly stayed, and had looked into these claims himself. According to Hürriyet, he said that "CHP congresses are special. We are on trial because we act in unity of action and thought", and stressed that he was a CHP member when he went into prison and when he came out.
The adjournment
Some defence lawyers said they had been unable to attend because of filed excuses and asked for time to prepare their clients' final defence. The prosecutor noted that the closing opinion had been given at the previous session and asked the court to reject the request.
According to Hürriyet, the judge accepted the lawyers' excuses but said no future excuses would be accepted, given the stage the case has reached and the need to keep the trial from dragging on. The hearing was adjourned to 18 November.
The news was also reported by Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sabah, A Haber, Sözcü, Medyascope, NTV and Habertürk.
