Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he had “nothing to do” with the imprisonment of Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor.
Ekrem Imamoglu’s verdict after a politically charged defamation trial has set off an international storm.
He was ejected for “insulting public officials” after calling city election officials “idiots” during the controversial 2019 mayoral election.
Erdogan, however, insisted he was not involved in the verdict.
“What is behind the storm caused by the verdict of the last few days? This debate has nothing to do with us, neither with me nor with our country,” Erdogan said. The president made the allegations in his first comment on the issue since Wednesday’s ruling.
“We laugh at all the false words that have been uttered for sure” by those whose writings show political intrigue, he said.
“But we are sad to see someone trying to play the game of throne through us,” the president added, hinting at the reaction to the verdict resulting from competition within the opposition.
Tens of thousands of people expressed support for Imamoglu in Istanbul on Thursday, who has established himself as an opposition figure in a bid to overthrow Erdogan’s 20-year rule of Turkish politics after his success as mayor. .
Immoglu’s conviction has been the subject of international criticism.
The United States on Thursday declared it “deeply troubled and disappointed” by his two-year and seven-month prison sentence and the ensuing ban on political activity, denying him any commitment to the presidency.
Germany, on the other hand, faced a “severe blow to democracy”.
Erdogan announced in June that he would run again next year, but the six-party opposition coalition has yet to name a joint candidate.
Erdoğan rhetorically pondered “what matters to us who will be the opposition candidate”, urging the opposition to have “courage” to choose their candidate. -AFPMore
