A Turkish court has accepted an indictment seeking prison terms up to 15 years and political bans for 26 members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), including the party’s İstanbul provincial chair Özgür Çelik, over their alleged involvement in a courthouse protest earlier this year.
According to the BirGün daily, prosecutors are requesting prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years, along with bans on political activity. The defendants face charges including resisting law enforcement, intentional injury, damaging public property and unlawful assembly.
The first hearing is scheduled for September 22 at Istanbul’s 18th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The case stems from a January 31 demonstration in front of the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan, where CHP members gathered in support of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was summoned for questioning as part of ongoing legal proceedings.
Clashes broke out between police and CHP supporters during the courthouse protest, leading to injuries among law enforcement officers, according to the indictment.
Among those indicted are senior provincial officials, youth wing leaders and district-level party representatives.
İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition CHP and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges widely criticized as politically motivated. His arrest, seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests in decades.
İmamoğlu’s arrest came following months of growing judicial pressure on the party that led to the arrest and removal from office of several of its mayors in İstanbul on either terrorism or corruption charges, seen as politically motivated.
Critics say Erdoğan wants to sideline İmamoğlu in the next presidential race, with the ongoing crackdown on him and his party.
