Turkish prosecutors have filed an indictment accusing jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and three others of “political espionage,” opening a public case that could bring up to 20 years in prison, Turkish Minute reported, citing the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The indictment targets İmamoğlu, his former campaign adviser Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ and businessman Hüseyin Gün. Prosecutors are seeking sentences of between 15 and 20 years for each suspect, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The investigation, launched in October 2025, focuses on claims that personal data from millions of users of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s “İstanbul Senin” (İstanbul Is Yours), a digital city platform introduced by the İstanbul Municipality in 2021 mobile application, was leaked abroad and offered for sale on the dark web.
In a statement announcing the case, the prosecutor’s office said the four were charged with “political espionage” and that the indictment was submitted to the İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court for review.
İmamoğlu, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate for the 2028 presidential election, has been held in Marmara Prison in Silivri for more than 10 months. He was arrested in March in a separate corruption investigation targeting the İstanbul Municipality and later removed from office.
The espionage probe alleges that data from 4.7 million users of the “İstanbul Senin” platform was transferred to foreign countries.
Prosecutors have also raised allegations involving another municipal-related mobile platform, claiming that election-related data from millions of people was processed and leaked.
The indictment covers an alleged offense period between 2019 and 2025.
Prosecutors have also accused İmamoğlu of contact with Gün, whom they claim has links to Israel, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the faith-based Gülen movement, allegations that have not been independently verified.
Turkey and its Western allies have designated the PKK as a terrorist organization. Turkey also lists the Gülen movement as a terrorist group, though that label is not recognized internationally.
İmamoğlu appeared at İstanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse on October 26 to give testimony in the espionage investigation, denying the accusations as politically motivated.
“I have absolutely no knowledge of or connection to intelligence agencies or their employees,” he said at the time, calling the claims “absurd.”
Yanardağ, editor-in-chief of the Tele1 opposition broadcaster, was arrested in the same investigation in late October. Turkish media reported that a trustee was later appointed to oversee the station, a move opposition figures denounced as an assault on press freedom.
Critics say the successive legal cases against İmamoğlu are aimed at sidelining President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most prominent political rival ahead of the next national elections. The government denies political interference in the judiciary.
The court will now decide whether to accept the indictment and proceed to trial.
Another indictment filed in November against İmamoğlu accuses him of leading a vast criminal network and committing 142 offenses that could result in a sentence of up to 2,430 years in prison.
The nearly 4,000-page indictment accuses İmamoğlu of offenses including running a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and bid rigging.
