TRT COULD BROADCAST LIVE İMAMOĞLU’S TRIAL
The possibility the trial of imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu could be televised by state broadcaster TRT has sparked rare agreement among political rivals.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan endorsed MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli’s call for the hearings to be aired live. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç also weighed in, saying that Parliament can act on the matter if there is consensus.
At his party’s parliamentary group meeting, Bahçeli voiced support for the live broadcast, noting that the CHP has been insistent on transparency and wants the public to follow the proceedings directly.
Bahçeli also stressed the need for indictments to be issued promptly and warned against prolonged judicial processes, calling delays harmful and unnecessary.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel welcomed Bahçeli’s support and introduced what he called the “3T formula”: a democratic and terror-free Turkey, a trial without detention, and live coverage on TRT.
The CHP has already submitted a legislative proposal to Parliament to allow the trial to be broadcast live. The party argues that citizens have the right to follow both the allegations made against elected officials and the defendants’ responses in real time.
However, broadcasting court proceedings requires a legal amendment. Under current law, trials cannot be televised unless Parliament explicitly changes the legislation. Legal experts emphasize that this would not apply to a single case, but would need to be a general legal provision allowing the live broadcast of court proceedings.
With only a short time left before the end of the current legislative term, any such amendment would have to wait until the new session begins in October.
