The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has decided to examine the application of İstanbul mayor and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu under a priority procedure, Turkish Minute reported.
Mehmet Pehlivan, one of İmamoğlu’s lawyers who is also currently behind bars, said in a statement shared on X that the defense had been notified of the court’s decision. The lawyer explained that the ECtHR had agreed to treat the application concerning İmamoğlu’s pretrial detention as an urgent case, adding that such prioritization is “rarely granted” in applications from Turkey.
İmamoğlu, the mayor of Turkey’s largest city and the most prominent opposition figure seen as capable of defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was arrested on March 23 as part of a sweeping corruption investigation targeting the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB). He has been held in pretrial detention since then.
Prosecutors accuse İmamoğlu of leading what they describe as a vast criminal network, using influence “like an octopus” to control municipal tenders and finances. A nearly 4,000-page indictment filed last month contains 142 separate charges, including bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion, bid rigging and violations of environmental, tax and mining laws. If convicted on all counts, İmamoğlu faces a combined prison sentence ranging from 849 years to more than 2,430 years.
The first hearing in the case is scheduled for March 9, 2026, at the İstanbul 40th High Criminal Court.
İmamoğlu’s arrest came just days before he was expected to be formally named the presidential candidate of the CHP. His detention on March 19 triggered the largest street protests Turkey has seen since the 2013 Gezi Park demonstrations, with rallies spreading across major cities.
Despite his arrest, the CHP went ahead with its planned primary vote. After opening the ballot to the general public beyond its 1.5 million registered members, the party said a record 15.5 million people cast votes in support of İmamoğlu, turning the primary into a symbolic show of defiance.
Several hours after an İstanbul court formally ordered his arrest in the corruption probe, the Interior Ministry suspended İmamoğlu from his post as mayor as he was transferred to a high-security prison on the city’s western outskirts.
İmamoğlu has strongly denied all accusations in statements to police and prosecutors, rejecting claims that he led a criminal organization and insisting that the case is politically motivated. The CHP has described the prosecution as a bid to eliminate Erdoğan’s strongest rival ahead of the next presidential election, scheduled for 2028.
Many critics argue that the scale of the charges and the severity of the requested sentence point to an effort to block İmamoğlu from remaining an active political figure, including through prolonged pretrial detention.
