ISTANBUL — Istanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, went on trial Monday in a sweeping corruption case that opposition leaders and rights groups call a politically motivated effort to block his path to the presidency. The hearing in Silivri, on the outskirts of Istanbul, was suspended after roughly 15 minutes amid chaos and procedural disputes.
Arrested on March 19 last year — the day he was named the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) — Imamoglu has been held ever since. He is widely seen as one of the few viable challengers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of national elections due within the next two years.
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Inside the packed courtroom, cheers of “We are proud of you” erupted as Imamoglu and scores of co-defendants entered, according to accounts from the mayor’s team and journalists present. After defense lawyers made a request the judge declined to grant, the gallery answered with shouts of “Shame, shame.” When a defense attorney then asked why a list detailing the order of witnesses had been leaked to a pro-government newspaper but not provided to the defense, the judge cleared the room and adjourned proceedings until the afternoon.
Among those attending were CHP leader Ozgur Ozel and Imamoglu’s wife, Dilek, as well as several senior party officials, many of whom initially refused to leave the courtroom, according to pro-opposition Halk TV. “This trial is a conspiratorial case. It is an attempted coup by Tayyip Erdogan against the next president and the next government,” Ozel said as the hearing began.
Prosecutors have charged Imamoglu with 142 offenses — ranging from graft and embezzlement to espionage — alongside more than 400 other defendants, in an indictment stretching nearly 4,000 pages. They are seeking a cumulative sentence of 2,430 years for the Istanbul mayor. The indictment accuses Imamoglu of leading a sprawling criminal network over which he allegedly exerted influence “like an octopus.”
With all protests banned within a one-kilometer radius of the courthouse, supporters gathered at a distance at a CHP encampment, where a mock-up of Imamoglu’s jail cell served as a rallying point. “The day will come when the tables are turned and the AKP will be held accountable,” they chanted, referencing Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, and holding photos of Imamoglu and 15 other CHP mayors who are also in detention.
The trial has drawn international condemnation. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both accused Turkish authorities of “weaponizing” the justice system to neutralize political opponents. “This prosecution bears the hallmarks of an attempt to intimidate political opponents of the government and silence wider dissent in the country,” Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s deputy director for Europe, said.
The scale of the case has strained the courts. CHP officials said authorities began building a custom courtroom to handle the mass trial, but it was not completed in time for the opening session.
The stakes extend well beyond Imamoglu’s legal fate. Since the CHP swept to a resounding victory in March 2024 local elections, the party has faced an expanding legal crackdown. Analysts say Imamoglu now appears unlikely to compete in the next presidential race. Even if he defeats the graft accusations, he faces a separate court challenge to the validity of his university degree, a constitutional requirement for presidential candidates. Should he be barred, observers expect Ozel to emerge as the CHP’s standard-bearer.
The Imamoglu trial underscores the intensifying struggle over Turkey’s political future and the narrowing space for opposition figures on the eve of crucial national elections. With few viable challengers to Erdogan and a judiciary under mounting scrutiny, the outcome in Silivri could shape the country’s electoral landscape for years.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
