Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu handed fresh jail term for insulting an official

ADVERTISEMENT

A Turkish court convicted Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor on Wednesday of insulting and threatening a public official and sentenced him to a year and eight months behind bars.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, seen as the chief political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been held in a prison west of Istanbul since 23 March.

He is expected to appeal the verdict, which is part of several ongoing legal proceedings against him.

The case, which predates his arrest, stems from comments he made on 20 January in which he criticised Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, accusing him of targeting opposition figures through alleged politically motivated investigations.

The court on Wednesday convicted İmamoğlu of insulting and threatening Gürlek but acquitted him of the charge of publicly identifying him with the intent of making him a target.

İmamoğlu, regarded as the main challenger to Erdoğan's more than two-decade-rule, has denied the accusations.

The mayor was arrested alongside other politicians from the main opposition party as part of investigations into alleged corruption.

His arrest triggered the largest street protests across Turkey in more than a decade.

Despite being behind bars, he was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

The next elections are due to be held in 2028, but may take place sooner.

Since İmamoğlu's arrest, dozens of officials from CHP-controlled municipalities have faced waves of arrests as part of investigations into alleged tender rigging and bribery.

The arrests have drawn widespread criticism from opposition leaders, who argue that the charges are politically motivated.

İmamoğlu himself has described the trial as "punishment, not justice," and accused the judiciary of acting under government pressure.

Erdoğan's government insists that the courts are impartial and free of political involvement.