For more than a year, the Turkish judiciary has been waging a massive campaign against the Republican People's Party (CHP) - the country's largest opposition party. Several mayors have been arrested, and hundreds of their officials and party functionaries have been detained.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the former mayor of Istanbul and the most promising opposition presidential candidate, is also in custody - since March 2025 he has been in the high-security prison in Silivri. Several lawsuits and investigations are underway against the 55-year-old rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on various charges - from alleged insulting civil servants to forging documents and espionage. Some of the cases against him have already resulted in convictions.
The largest trial to date against the opposition politician from the HDP begins on March 9. The Istanbul prosecutor's office accuses him of corruption and leading an organized crime group.
It is a large-scale case with over 400 defendants and an indictment of almost 3,900 pages. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Ekrem İmamoğlu could face up to 2,430 years in prison if found guilty.
A political trial
For İmamoğlu and the HDP, the trial is undeniably politically motivated – in order to eliminate Erdogan's most dangerous rival before the next presidential elections in 2028.
Everything speaks for itself: shortly after Imamoglu's arrest, a number of his employees and party friends were arrested, as well as one of his wife Dilek's brothers. The opposition politician's father and son, who are banned from leaving the country, were also questioned. Because of this, his son's trip to Germany - at the invitation of the Technical University of Dresden - failed.
In early February, the next blow came: another brother of his wife was arrested on suspicion of drug use - unfairly, as quickly became clear after a drug test was conducted, which turned out to be negative. Dilek Imamoglu sharply criticized the actions of the authorities and described the investigation as harassment and an organized campaign to discredit her husband and her family. Many also see the reason for this in the campaign led by the pro-government press - Almost daily, publications suggest what criminal acts Imamoglu, his entourage and his entire party have committed.
What is Imamoglu accused of?
According to the indictment, the prosecutor's office accuses Imamoglu of committing over 140 crimes: from money laundering and public procurement fraud, to accepting bribes and spreading fake news, to violating tax laws and laws on forestry and mining. In addition, the defendant must also be held responsible for complicity in the alleged crimes of the other defendants, for which he faces additional terms of imprisonment.
According to the Anatolian News Agency, Ekrem İmamoğlu's criminal organization caused the state economic damage of over 24 million dollars.
Who is Ekrem İmamoğlu?
Imamoğlu was born on June 4, 1970 in Akçaabat on the Black Sea coast. He comes from a modest family. Until 1987, he ran a small shop for handicraft materials, after which he moved to Istanbul, where he founded a construction company. Like President Erdogan, Imamoglu was also a football fan and attended a school to study the Koran.
According to Imamoglu himself, he began his studies at the American University of Northern Cyprus, but later transferred to Istanbul University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in human resource management in 1994.
In 2008, he joined the Republican People's Party - the main opposition force against Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Imamoglu began his political career in the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul, an AKP stronghold, where he won in 2014 as an AKP candidate. Four years later, he ran for mayor of Istanbul and won in a surprise victory against Erdogan's right-hand man, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. After the election was annulled, Imamoglu managed to win the rerun, with an even better result. Imamoglu’s landslide victory ended the AKP’s 25-year rule in the Bosphorus metropolis.
After taking office, he stopped payments of 55 million euros to foundations close to the AKP and eliminated municipal payments to media outlets close to the government. In response, the government blocked his projects and stopped approving loans for the municipal administration.
In the 2024 local elections, İmamoğlu ran again and managed to win once again. He is considered close to the people and a good speaker. His rhetoric is constructive: he does not try to divide, but to unite people. With his slogan "Everything will be very good" he mobilized millions. Thanks to his popularity, İmamoğlu was able to initiate reforms in the RPP, which took a successful course.
Several lawsuits are currently being filed against the Republican People's Party. In fact, it requested that the trial against İmamoğlu, which begins today (March 9), be broadcast live to convince the Turkish public that the charges are fabricated. But the request was rejected.
Author: Elmaz Topçu