Interior minister says İmamoğlu 'committed a crime' at Sultan Mehmed's tomb

Still image showing Mayor İmamoğlu at the sultan's tomb.

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İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor committed a crime by "folding his hands behind the back" at the tomb of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, according to Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu.

It was revealed on Tuesday (May 4) that prosecutors were probing İmamoğlu for the visit that took place on May 29, 2020, the anniversary of the conquest of İstanbul.

The Ministry of Interior had confirmed the news, stating that it had assigned a civil inspector after it had been notified about the investigation by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

"When citizens see this, they naturally think that it's disrespectful to both Lady Gülbahar [Sultan Mehmed's wife] and Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror ... I also think it's disrespectful," he said during a program on the pro-government 24 TV yesterday (May 6).

When asked about whether he considered İmamoğlu's act a crime, Soylu answered, "It is [a crime] for me" but said he wouldn't permit an investigation into the incident.

It's at the minister of interior's authority to allow a criminal investigation of a mayor.

CLICK - İmamoğlu says probe against him 'funny'

About another complaint against İmamoğlu over his visit to Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) mayors, Soylu said he hadn't yet decided to permit an investigation or not.

İmamoğlu's visit to HDP mayors in Diyarbakır in August 2019 after they were dismissed by the Ministry of Interior due to "terrorism-related" investigations against them is also subject to a complaint.

Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who is also a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), criticized the investigation, saying that it wasn't nice to start a probe "out of nothing."

Meanwhile, Ufuk Akçekaya, the chair of the Tokatspor football club, said on Twitter that he was the one who filed a complaint against İmamoğlu. It later surfaced that he previously applied to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for MP candidacy. (DŞ/VK)