Istanbul’s former mayor is back in court
A new trial is due to open on Monday (10 a.m. local) in Turkey against the former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, considered a possible challenger to outgoing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Three other people are also facing charges alongside the opposition politician. The official Anadolu news agency reported that the Istanbul prosecutor’s office accused them of “political espionage”.
The indictment alleges that İmamoğlu, his campaign advisor Necati Özkan, businessman Hüseyin Gün and journalist Merdan Yanardağ ran a criminal network and passed data on Turkish citizens to foreign intelligence services.
The aim, it is claimed, was to influence the 2019 election campaign – when CHP politician İmamoğlu was first elected mayor of Istanbul. Before that, Erdoğan’s AKP had governed the city for many years.
The CHP, the country’s largest opposition party, considers the trial to be politically motivated. The defendants face prison sentences of 15 to 20 years if convicted. All four are currently in pre-trial detention.
İmamoğlu was removed from his position as mayor of Istanbul and arrested in March 2025 in a separate case involving allegations of corruption.
