The prosecutor has requested that the mayor of Istanbul and leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Ekrem Imamoglu, be sentenced to up to 2,352 years in prison on charges of leading a criminal organization.
He has also called for the banning of the CHP, while the opposition describes the case as politically motivated, arguing that Imamoglu is being targeted because he has won the Istanbul mayoral elections three times.
“This case is not legal but entirely political,” said Ozgur Ozel, head of Turkey’s main opposition party, in a social media post following the announcement of the charges.
Erdogan himself began his political career as mayor of Istanbul, and Imamoglu’s arrest came at a time when he was expected to secure more than 15 million votes for his presidential nomination.
Ozel described the case and other legal actions against Imamoglu this year as a “political coup” aimed at suppressing the opposition.
Imamoglu has been in prison since March, having been arrested shortly before he was expected to announce his candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections.
According to The New York Times, control of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and economic powerhousε, is a deeply personal matter for Erdogan, who began his political career as its mayor from 1994 to 1998.
Sources: New York Times, Kathimerini
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