Ousted and imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has appeared in the first of the two court hearings scheduled on Friday that could lead to prison time and a political ban.
The hearing, including CHP lawmakers, mayors and party members in the audience, began with Imamoğlu’s defense, Turkish media reported.
The court case involves allegations that he threatened Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of up to seven years and four months for Imamoğlu.
He is accused of using his influence as a mayor to exert pressure on judiciary organs and members in a bid to win favors in lawsuits involving his party.
The former mayor made “statements qualifying as threats” in January against Gürlek’s family after the arrest of Beşiktaş District Mayor Rıza Akpolat on charges of corruption.
The CHP has singled out the prosecutor for acting as a “guillotine” for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan following Akpolat’s arrest, accusing him of orchestrating the arrest of Ahmet Özer, another CHP mayor who was serving in the Esenyurt district before he was charged with links to the PKK terrorist group last year.
The government has dismissed accusations of political interference in the cases and says the judiciary is independent.
The other case accuses Imamoğlu of fraud during his term as mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district.
Both carry the risk of imprisonment and a ban from political activity, Imamoğlu’s lawyer Kemal Polat told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
None of Friday’s proceedings are connected to Imamoğlu’s March 19 detention, after which he was placed in pre-trial remand at a high-security Istanbul prison.
In total, the 53-year-old opposition politician faces five separate court cases – four of which could result in a political ban – and is the subject of three ongoing investigations.
The mayor is separately scheduled to testify Friday as a witness in a separate case targeting his party, the CHP.
In 2022, Imamoğlu received a political ban for insulting public officials, but the verdict is under appeal.