Turkish prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of up to seven years for İstanbul’s powerful mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, due to his recent criticism of judicial authorities in Turkey, the private DHA news agency reported.
İmamoğlu, who is from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and who ended the years-long rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in İstanbul in the 2019 local election, is frequently the target of judicial harassment.
According to DHA, the mayor is accused of “targeting individuals fighting terrorism,” “insult” and “threat” due to his criticism of İstanbul’s chief public prosecutor, Akın Gürlek, and his family during a recent panel discussion. He faces a prison sentence of between two years, eight months and seven years, four months.
The prosecutors also demanded that the mayor be barred from “holding any permanent, temporary or fixed-term public office” in line with Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
In his speech İmamoğlu accused the government of “instrumentalizing” the judiciary to punish its opponents, claiming that Gürlek acts on orders from the government to discredit him and other mayors in İstanbul from the CHP.
Meanwhile, the mayor’s lawyer, Kemal Polat, told the Gazete Duvar news website that they had not received any official notification regarding the indictment in which Gürlek is listed as the “victim.”
“Leaking the indictment before its acceptance [by a court] violates the confidentiality of the investigation. Moreover, among other concerns, the fact that the complainant serves as the chief public prosecutor in the same courthouse further undermines the right to a fair trial,” Polat added.
CHP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut also criticized the indictment on X, stating that a system where judicial officials, who should remain independent, are involved in politics cannot be considered “a democracy.”
“We will not take a single step back against those who try to subdue the will of the people through judicial pressure!” he vowed.
İstanbul Belediye Başkanımız Ekrem İmamoğlu'na, İstanbul Başsavcısı Akın Gürlek hakkındaki sözleri nedeniyle 7 yıl 4 aya kadar hapis cezası istemiyle ceza davası açıldı ve siyasi yasak istendi.
Bağımsız olması gereken yargı mensuplarının siyasete dahil olduğu bir rejim…
— Burhanettin Bulut (@eczburhan) February 5, 2025
İmamoğlu also took to X, saying that the indictment, which was distributed to the pro-government media before being sent to the court and his lawyers, is a demonstration of “panic.”
“Erdoğan, who closely follows these cases … clearly thinks that instead of facing the people honestly in the elections, he can stay in power through behind-the-scenes games,” İmamoğlu said.
He further stated, referring to Erdoğan and his ruling AKP, that voters no longer have any trust in “those who show no respect for democracy and the right to choose.”
Başsavcı incindi diye hakkımda hazırlanan iddianameyi, ifademi alan savcı bey yerine incinen başsavcının yardımcısı yazmış. Daha mahkemeye ve avukatlarıma gönderilmeden iktidar medyasına dağıtılan evrak paniklerinin resmidir.
Bu davaları “yakından” takip eden, içeriklerini…
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) February 5, 2025
The mayor, who is also fighting several other legal cases, had already been sentenced to more than two years in prison and barred from politics in December 2022 for allegedly insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK). The mayor faces a political ban if his conviction is upheld by an appeals court.
İmamoğlu, who was re-elected mayor last year, vowed not to give up.
“We will keep fighting injustice,” he said.