İstanbul’s popular mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has filed a criminal complaint over a death threat made against him on social media, his lawyer has announced.
Kemal Polat announced on X on Monday that his client had filed a criminal complaint against an X user who threatened “a shot to [his] head.”
The X user, “KuyucuMuratps,” made his comment in response to a tweet posted by pro-government journalist Emre Erciş, who referred to the mayor as “a person who defies the law.”
Erciş also faces a criminal complaint from İmamoğlu in the same petition, accusing him of provoking the death threat against the mayor from people who see him as an “enemy.”
Polat said he expects and hopes that the X user will be caught as soon as possible and held accountable in a court of law.
“Mr. İmamoğlu should not be targeted with irresponsible posts and statements. We believe and expect our judiciary to do what’s required in accordance with the law.”
The X user and Erciş are accused of insult, spreading misleading information, provocation to commit a crime and issuing a threat, punishable acts under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
İmamoğlu, seen as the strongest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is likely to be the presidential candidate of his main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for the next presidential election scheduled for 2028.
He is currently the subject of multiple investigations, two of which were opened in January. The mayor frequently criticizes judicial authorities for carrying out a judicial crackdown on him and his party due to pressure from the government.
Regularly targeted by Erdoğan, who also served as İstanbul mayor, İmamoğlu was sentenced in December 2022 to nearly three years in prison and a political ban for “insulting” members of Turkey’s High Electoral Board. He has appealed the ruling.
