A court trial is beginning in Turkey against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence ranging from 849 to 2,430 years in prison, Bloomberg reports.
The political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accused of leading a criminal organization.
Imamoglu was detained in March 2025—just days before he planned to formally announce his candidacy for the presidential election scheduled for May 2028. His victory in Istanbul’s 2019 mayoral election dealt a serious blow to Erdogan’s position, whose own political career began with the leadership of the city.
Imamoglu’s re-election as mayor in 2024 became part of a broader wave of support for the opposition. In the aftermath, the Republican People’s Party for the first time in many years overtook Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party and emerged as the country’s most popular political force.
The Republican People’s Party itself describes the charges against the mayor as politically motivated.
Imamoglu’s detention in 2025 triggered a wave of protests across Turkey.
Protests in Istanbul. March 2025