The latest trial against prominent opposition politician and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu lasted less than an hour before the judge postponed further proceedings to June 16. “I’m here because I won the Istanbul elections three times,” İmamoğlu reportedly told Turkish media. The hearing took place in a courtroom at Silivri Prison, where the deposed mayor has been held for the past three weeks. The trial had only recently been moved there from a courthouse in Istanbul. Nonetheless, the public gallery was packed, as shown in images from the courtroom. The hearing was not broadcasted.
Silivri is considered Europe’s largest prison and holds many critics of the Turkish president. The courtroom where İmamoğlu’s trial is taking place is infamous: it hosted the so-called Ergenekon trials, in which more than 250 military officers were sentenced in 2013 for allegedly plotting to overthrow Erdoğan. Turkey’s Supreme Court later overturned the convictions due to lack of evidence. For some, this raises hopes for İmamoğlu. As CHP deputy parliamentary group leader Gökhan Günaydın put it: “I remember this courtroom from the Ergenekon trials. The beginning of the film is the same — and the ending will be the same too.”
“I am someone who always seeks reconciliation,” İmamoğlu continued. He also expressed solidarity with the hundreds of students detained in recent weeks during mass protests against the government. The protests had been triggered by his arrest on March 19 over allegations of corruption and support for terrorism. However, the current trial concerns a different matter: İmamoğlu stands accused of threatening Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor, Akın Gürlek, and his family during a speech. He faces up to seven years and four months in prison, a ban from holding public office, and the loss of his right to vote. A separate hearing scheduled for the same day was to address allegations of rigged tenders during his tenure as mayor of Beylikdüzü, a suburb of Istanbul. İmamoğlu is accused of favoring friends and relatives.
The 53-year-old politician denies all charges. Regarding Gürlek, he said he had merely called for an impartial judiciary “for the sake of the children and the future of all people in Turkey.” İmamoğlu had criticized the prosecutor’s investigation into CHP youth leader Cem Aydın and his suspected arrest. In the speech at issue, İmamoğlu had addressed Gürlek directly: “We will remove the mindset guiding you from the minds of this people so that your children don’t have to experience such things again. (…) We will also end your way of thinking so that even in your own home, peace may return.”
Gürlek served as deputy justice minister until October and was previously a judge known for his tough stance against opposition figures. Shortly after becoming chief prosecutor in late October, he ordered the arrest of a district mayor in Istanbul over alleged PKK ties. Soon afterward, CHP leader Özgür Özel labeled him “a mobile guillotine (…) that beheads justice.” In January, another CHP district mayor was detained. This was followed by the arrests of prominent activists and journalists — culminating in İmamoğlu’s imprisonment.
His arrest is widely seen as politically motivated, as he is expected to be a presidential candidate for the CHP in the next election. The popular politician, who had governed Istanbul since 2019, was seen as a strong contender. He was even expected to challenge long-time ruler Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the last presidential election two years ago. But in December 2022, a court sentenced him to two years and seven months in prison for allegedly insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council by calling them “fools.” The sentence came with a political ban, though it remains under appeal. At the most recent local elections, İmamoğlu was not only re-elected mayor but led the CHP to outperform Erdoğan’s AKP nationwide.
The wave of protests in Turkey had briefly subsided during the Eid holidays. Previously, security forces had used water cannons to disperse demonstrators and arrested nearly 2,000 people. Almost 300 students were placed in pretrial detention. This week, more than half were released. The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced that charges had been filed against 819 individuals in 20 separate investigations. They are accused of participating in unauthorized demonstrations. Yet this has not deterred the mostly young protesters: every week since İmamoğlu’s arrest, thousands of students have gathered to demand his release and protest Erdoğan’s rule.
At the same time, Erdoğan is escalating his rhetoric against the main opposition party. “The CHP is fascism embodied in flesh and blood,” he declared before his own party. He is also taking legal action against Özel, who had called Erdoğan a “junta leader” during a party congress on Sunday. Özel had described İmamoğlu’s arrest as a “top-down coup.” In response, Erdoğan’s lawyer filed a criminal complaint for insulting the president and demanded nearly 12.000 Euro in compensation.
