ISTANBUL (AP) 鈥� Istanbul Mayor went on trial on Monday with more than 400 other defendants accused of in a case critics see as a politically motivated move against Turkey鈥檚 opposition.
Imamoglu, who has been behind bars for nearly a year, is the main challenger to President 鈥檚 23-year rule. He was elected as the main opposition party鈥檚 candidate for an election due in 2028 just days after he was detained.
The hearing began in a tense atmosphere, with Imamoglu asking to speak and the panel of judges refusing the request, Halk TV news channel and other media reported. The judges accused Imamoglu of disrupting the proceedings and then left the courtroom. The trial was adjourned until the afternoon.
Tensions continued in the later session when defense lawyers called for the judges to be removed and replaced, but the court dismissed the request.
Most of the 402 defendants worked for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, headed by Imamoglu since 2019. Many are elected officials from the Republican People鈥檚 Party, or CHP, while journalists are also among the accused.
Imamoglu鈥檚 arrest on March 19 last year , the largest seen in Turkey for more than a decade.
He faces 142 charges, including establishing the 鈥淚mamoglu criminal organization for profit鈥� from 2015, when he was mayor of Istanbul鈥檚 Beylikduzu district. The 3,900-page indictment alleges the goal was not just to enrich the accused through a system of bid-rigging and payoffs but also to finance Imamoglu鈥檚 rise in the CHP, ultimately resulting in his presidential candidacy.
If convicted, he could face a total prison sentence exceeding 2,000 years.
In a newspaper article published Friday, Imamoglu described Monday鈥檚 trial as 鈥渙ne of the toughest tests of democracy鈥� in Turkey鈥檚 history and an 鈥渁ttempt to overturn the will of the people.鈥�
The case is just one of the many indictments in which the 54-year-old mayor could be jailed and banned from politics. Others include claims of terrorism, espionage, falsifying his university diploma and insulting officials.
In what government critics say is a broad , elected CHP members, including mayors of other major cities, face separate terrorism and corruption allegations. The party鈥檚 leadership itself is also under legal pressure over alleged irregularities surrounding its 2023 congress.
The scale and anticipated length of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality trial, which could run for years, has seen authorities commission the building of a new courtroom at the prison complex in Silivri, west of Istanbul, where Imamoglu and many defendants are held. Until it is completed, participants will squeeze into an existing chamber at the prison.
To highlight what they see as the political nature of prosecutions against CHP members, Imamoglu鈥檚 supporters and human rights groups point to a series of factors, including the role of Istanbul鈥檚 chief prosecutor. Akin Gurlek, the deputy justice minister, was appointed to that office in late 2024, where he initiated a series of investigations targeting CHP figures. Last month, as justice minister.
Critics also say the prosecution鈥檚 reliance on 鈥渟ecret witnesses,鈥� whose identity is hidden from defense lawyers, and defendants testifying against their co-accused, contravene the right to a fair trial.
The government maintains that Turkey鈥檚 judiciary is independent and impartial.
Despite a ban on demonstrations around the Silivri prison complex, hundreds of people gathered to demand Imamoglu’s release. The CHP set up a replica of the cell where the mayor is being held 鈥� furnished with a desk, a chair, and a small television 鈥� for supporters to visit.
Benjamin Ward, Europe and Central Asia deputy director at Human Rights Watch, described the cases against the CHP over the past year as 鈥渨eaponizing the criminal justice system.鈥�
鈥淟ooking at these cases as a whole, it鈥檚 hard to avoid the conclusion that prosecutors are trying to remove Imamoglu from politics and discredit his party in ways that undermine democracy,鈥� he said.
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.
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