The trial of İstanbul’s jailed mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on charges he faked his university degree was deferred to December 8 on Monday following a row over the size of the courtroom.
İmamoğlu, seen as the most powerful political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been nominated as candidate for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the next election scheduled for 2028.
But the cancellation of his university degree would effectively rule him out of the race.
He was forcibly made to appear on Monday after initially refusing to attend because of a spat between his lawyers and the court about the room reserved for the prison hearing.
The defense team argued that it was too small.
İmamoğlu, who was mayor of Turkey’s largest and richest city until his arrest in March, is facing a slew of legal proceedings, including for corruption.
He was detained with dozens of city officials on March 19, one day before the İstanbul University annulled his degree, which he obtained in 1994.
According to the university, he should not have been given the qualification, as the first two years of his study were at a university in Northern Cyprus, which was not recognized at the time by the Turkish Higher Education Board.
If he is found guilty, he could be sentenced to between 2.5 years and eight years and nine months in jail.
© Agence France-Presse