Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, appeared in court on Friday in one of multiple cases against him.
Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the courthouse-prison complex in Istanbul’s Silivri district, where Imamoglu is currently being detained and Friday’s hearing took place.
In Friday’s hearing, prosecutors sought a prison sentence of up to seven years and four months over remarks Imamoglu made earlier this year criticizing Istanbul Chief Prosecutor AkinGurlek.
The mayor was jailed in March pending trial over unrelated charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, a sharp selloff in Turkish assets and broad accusations of a politicized judiciary. His imprisonment sparked mass protests across Turkey. Those demonstrations saw some 2,000 people detained.
Addressing the judge, Imamoglu said he was in court because he had won three elections against the person “who thinks he owns Istanbul,” a clear reference to Turkish President , who began his political career as the city’s mayor in the 1990s.
Imamoglu as presidential candidate
The mayor was officially nominated as the CHP presidential candidate while in custody.
An election is due to be held in 2028 but may come sooner, and Imamoglu’s imprisonment has been widely viewed as politically motivated although the government insists the country’s judiciary is free of political influence.
Two other courts on Friday were also holding hearings on cases against Imamoglu.
One is a bid-rigging case that dates back 10 years. At the time he was mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district. The other case alleges illegal donation collection and emanates from video footage circulated in the buildup to last year’s local elections which showed CHP staff counting bundles of cash.
Turkey’s economic plight and anger at Erdogan
The unrest sparked by the jailing of Imamoglu .
has been experiencing an economic crisis for several years, with people suffering from rising inflation and high rents.
According to the TUIK statistics institute, the annual inflation rate stood at 42% in January. Added to that is a depreciation of the Turkish lira, which means many elderly people can no longer afford the apartments they live in.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
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