Turkish authorities are using criminal prosecutions and pretrial detention to push İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) presidential candidate, out of politics, as the jailed mayor prepares to go on trial on March 9 in a corruption case with 407 defendants, Turkish Minute reported, citing Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“The trial of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu follows more than a year of weaponizing the criminal justice system against his party and other CHP elected officials while he sits in jail,” said Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at HRW. Ward said the broader set of cases points to an effort to remove İmamoğlu from politics and discredit the CHP, a move the group said undermines democracy.
İmamoğlu, who first won the İstanbul mayoral race in 2019, has spent about a year in prison after a court ordered his jailing on March 23, 2025, as the CHP was set to confirm him as its presidential candidate.
HRW underlined that the evidence in the main corruption case relies heavily on testimony from 15 witnesses whose identities are withheld from the defense and on statements by 76 defendants who agreed to testify in exchange for the possibility of reduced sentences. The group said the use of such evidence, along with public statements by prosecutors and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about İmamoğlu and the CHP, raises fair trial concerns.
Human Rights Watch also pointed to what it described as pressure on the defense, citing the jailing of İmamoğlu’s defense lawyer as a defendant in the case. It said the size of the proceedings and the number of defendants add to concerns about the right to a fair trial.
The corruption indictment accuses İmamoğlu of leading what prosecutors call a criminal organization tied to İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality contracts and tenders and alleges the scheme aimed to enrich a network and build political power inside the CHP. İmamoğlu could face up to 1,929 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
According to HRW, prosecutors have used a second detention order in an espionage investigation as an “insurance policy” to keep İmamoğlu behind bars.
A court ordered İmamoğlu’s detention in that probe on October 27, and he was indicted on February 4, along with three others. The trial is set to begin May 11 and carries a potential 15 to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
HRW said that the broader campaign has targeted CHP municipalities and party leadership through criminal cases and court challenges, arguing that the pattern suggests an “improper purpose” barred by Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The group noted that in Turkey’s March 2024 local elections, the CHP won 37.8 percent of the national vote, ahead of Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at 35.5 percent.
