Detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, from Turkey’s opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), on Wednesday slammed the recent judicial charge against him, which carries a potential sentence of up to 2,430 years, and demanded a public trial aired on national TV.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday released an indictment against Imamoglu, seeking a prison sentence of up to 2,430 years on charges including “establishing a terrorist organization, bribery, fraud, bid rigging, money laundering, and disseminating personal data.”
The detained mayor has been under investigation for espionage, alongside previous charges including bribery, extortion, and aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since his detainment in late March.
Imamoglu called the recent indictment a result of an “unlawful investigation” which was conducted through “slanders, conspiracies, and unprecedented attacks and harassment in the judiciary,” opposition media ANKA reported on Wednesday.
He demanded a public trial, saying: “Broadcast the trial live, let everyone see your lies and slanders.”
“Let the Turkish Grand National Assembly [parliament] take action so that the trial can be broadcast on TRT [state broadcaster] screens and other channels,” he added.
The indictment describes Imamoglu as the “founder and leader” of the alleged “terrorist organization,” adding that 402 other suspects have received different charges for their involvement with the mayor’s “profit-oriented criminal organization.”
“The indictment you wrote consists of lies that you've strung together by threatening people, taking them hostage, forcing them into slander through pressure, and linking them one after another,” Imamoglu decried.
The charge names 16 complainants, including the ministries of treasury and finance, interior, and energy and natural resources, as well as the Istanbul provincial directorate of environment and urbanization, as institutions allegedly harmed by the organization’s crimes.
The cost in losses to the Turkish state was calculated at approximately 160 billion Turkish liras and $24 million in movable assets.
Immamoglu, considered the most potent rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was nominated as the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 elections.
