A Turkish court has ordered Ekrem İmamoğlu, İstanbul’s jailed mayor and the main opposition’s presidential candidate, to pay 150,000 Turkish lira ($3,500) in non-pecuniary damages to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan due to remarks he made criticizing the seizure of his assets following his detention last year, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Halk TV news website.
The ruling was issued by the İstanbul 23rd Civil Court of First Instance in a lawsuit filed by Erdoğan, who accused İmamoğlu of violating his personal rights in a social media post shared on March 20, 2025.
At the hearing Erdoğan’s lawyer said İmamoğlu’s remarks directly targeted the president and public institutions, claiming that the defense failed to provide evidence to support its claims.
İmamoğlu’s lawyer requested a postponement, which the court rejected.
The judge ruled to partially accept the lawsuit, ordering İmamoğlu to pay 150,000 lira in non-pecuniary damages, along with interest calculated from the date of the post.
The court rejected the remaining portion of the claim. Erdoğan’s legal team had sought 250,000 ($5,800) lira in damages.
The lawsuit stemmed from a lengthy post on X in which İmamoğlu accused Erdoğan and his government of targeting his property, reputation and family following legal actions taken against him.
“While you began this journey with a single ring, you now carry countless stains [wealth] at home and abroad that you could never fully account for, yet you are targeting the property, work and labor my family has built over three generations. You are casting aspersions on our honor and dignity and seizing my children’s future. You are doing all this with a handful of unqualified people,” İmamoğlu wrote back then.
He was referring to a well-known phrase attributed to Erdoğan at the beginning of his career when he allegedly said he has only a ring as his wealth.
One day after his March 19 detention on what many say were politically motivated corruption charges, which sparked massive protests, a Turkish court ordered the seizure of a construction company owned by İmamoğlu.
The seized company is İmamoğlu İnşaat, owned by the İmamoğlu family. Mayor İmamoğlu was among its partners.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office said at the time that the company was seized based on findings of the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), without elaborating.
İmamoğlu’s post is no longer accessible in Turkey due to restrictions on İmamoğlu’s social media account.
İmamoğlu has been detained, subsequently placed in pre-trial detention and removed from office as part of a series of investigations that his party and rights groups say are politically motivated and aimed at barring him from running for the presidency.
The government denies the allegations and says the judiciary operates independently.
The ruling against İmamoğlu can be appealed within two weeks of formal notification.
