New footage from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s private meeting at a hotel in Beşiktaş on October 12, 2024, has reignited debate over the contents of several suitcases transported during the event.
Security camera recordings show İmamoğlu’s protection team entering and exiting the hotel with large suitcases and taping over interior surveillance cameras. These images were widely circulated in pro-government media outlets, which claimed the suitcases contained large amounts of cash.
In response, CHP İstanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik held a press conference dismissing the cash allegations. Çelik stated that the suitcases contained signal-jamming devices (jammers) used by security teams to prevent unauthorized surveillance during sensitive meetings. He explained that the devices, said to weigh approximately 20 to 25 kilograms each, were transported in suitcases due to their size and weight. Çelik also emphasized that İmamoğlu, as a high-profile public figure, has an official personal protection detail authorized by the Ministry of the Interior, including four police bodyguards.
However, observers noted that during the press conference, when Çelik displayed the devices, they did not appear particularly heavy, as he was able to lift and handle them with ease — raising further questions about whether the stated weight and description fully align with what was shown.
Çelik also justified the taping over of the hotel’s cameras, explaining that it was limited to the meeting room and was intended to safeguard privacy amid concerns of illicit recording — a precaution influenced by past breaches of İmamoğlu’s private life.
Despite these explanations, critics argue that the footage and the secretive handling of the meeting raise unanswered questions. No official forensic inspection of the suitcases or their contents has been publicly disclosed. For now, while İBB and CHP officials insist the suitcases contained security equipment, speculation continues in both political and media circles.
