İstanbul mayor says interior minister 'acting like a troll'

Phtos: AA

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İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has criticized Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu for "acting like a troll" after the minister's fresh accusations against the municipality.

Soylu claimed yesterday (January 12) on pro-government broadcaster A Haber that the municipality makes monthly payments to some journalists to make reports and comments in favor of them.

Saying that the "salaries" the municipality pays the journalists range from 15,000 to 30,000 lira, Soylu remarked, "Giving wages to some journalists won't prove you right."

In late December, the ministry opened an investigation into the municipality for the alleged "terrorist ties" of some municipal personnel.

Soylu had claimed they had found 557 municipal employees to be "in connection or coherent with terror organizations."

Speaking to ANKA News Agency today, İmamoğlu said Soylu's allegations about payments to journalists were just like the investigation issue.

"There is a new inspection attack. While there had been no investigations since 2012 until we came, there are inspection attacks now," said the mayor, who won the 2019 municipal election, ending the 25-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its predecessors in the city.

"Mister Minister shouldn't act like a troll, he should serve as the minister. If he can't, the authorities should do what is necessary," said İmamoğlu.

"Corruption" files

The mayor further said that the ministry took over several "corruption" investigations opened by the municipality regarding the AKP era.

"They have taken over the process by confiscating all 35 files that we opened. There is no such thing in the history of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality," he remarked. "They took over [the investigations and dodged the column, so to speak."

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(AÖ/VK)