MHP urges common sense over İmamoğlu’s detention
ANKARA
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has urged common sense and restraint over the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, expressing his trust in the Turkish judicial system.
“No one is untouchable and exempt from accountability,” Bahçeli said in a written message on March 19 over the detention of İmamoğlu over alleged corruption and terror links.
MHP is the main political ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leader President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan was the joint presidential candidate of the AKP and the MHP in the latest presidential polls.
Bahçeli indirectly criticized Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel for describing the detention of İmamoğlu as a civilian coup, saying “To oppose justice and law, or even to open them up for discussion, is to invite chaos and violence.”
MHP leader stressed that showing respect for justice is a mutual responsibility and called on everyone to acknowledge the legal process with common sense and restraint.
“I have full confidence in the Turkish judiciary. [The principle of] innocence until proven guilty by the court is essential,” he stated.
Bahçeli urged against provocations from inside or outside the country to deal a blow on the unity and togetherness especially at a moment when Türkiye is advancing to become a terror-free and violence-free country.
