Istanbul mayor and Turkish opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu went on trial [5] March 9, accused of establishing an “İmamoğlu criminal organization for profit” that operated parallel to and was concealed by his official duties.
İmamoğlu faces charges including corruption, defrauding public institutions, bribery, extortion, and laundering proceeds of crime. His case is part of a mass trial involving more than 400 co-defendants, most of whom worked for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, which İmamoğlu has headed since 2019. Other co-defendants include elected officials from İmamoğlu's Republican People's Party (CHP), journalists and İmamoğlu’s lawyer.
Critics of the trial argue that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is politically influencing the proceedings as part of a broader judicial campaign intended to impede the CHP's ability to function as an effective opposition party and to prevent İmamoğlu and other CHP officials from exercising their rights to political participation.
In a published statement, İmamoğlu wrote that he was "not being judged fairly in front of an independent and unbiased judiciary." During the hearings, CHP leader Özgür Özel accused [7] the prosecution of acting on Erdoğan’s orders, saying that the judges "have already made their verdict." İmamoğlu described the trial as an "attempt to overturn the will of the people" and "one of the toughest tests of democracy" in Türkiye's history.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised concerns [8] about Türkiye's abuse of detentions and prosecutions, and weaponization of the legal apparatus against political opponents. Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Türkiye is a party, forbids restrictions on rights and freedoms "for any purpose other than those for which they have been prescribed."
İmamoğlu has been targeted by the Turkish judicial system throughout his term as mayor. He was convicted in 2022 for allegedly insulting members of the Supreme Election Council, a conviction currently on appeal before the Court of Cassation. On June 24, 2024, İmamoğlu was indicted for slander, a case that he settled out of court. On Feb. 5, 2025, İmamoğlu was indicted for criticizing Akın Gürlek, the chief prosecutor who directly oversaw the main criminal investigation against him. He was convicted on charges of insulting a public official and making threats after describing Gürlek’s "reasoning" as "rotten."
This weeks hearings join a long list of indictments targeting CHP officials, including other elected mayors. Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was indicted for "membership in an armed organization" on Oct. 30, 2024. Seven CHP mayors have been arrested and detained for charges of alleged criminal activity and corruption, and there is an ongoing criminal case against İmamoğlu and 11 others into claims that they paid people to vote for Özel as party chair secretary at the 2023 party congress.
Benjamin Ward, Europe and Central Asia deputy director at HRW, said that "it's hard to avoid the conclusion that prosecutors are trying to remove İmamoğlu from politics and discredit his party in ways that undermine democracy."
From JURIST [9], March 10. Used with permission.
See our last report on the crackdown on political opposition [10] in Türkiye.
