Ekrem İmamoğlu Opposes Judge in Two Cases – CNN Türk Breaking News
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu Faces Two Cases in Court
Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu appeared before a judge in two separate cases recently. The first hearing, concerning his comments targeting the Silivri Prison Campus, took place in Hall 1 with Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. Ekrem Imamoglu, accompanied by gendarmerie officers from Marmara Prison where he was detained, defended himself for 45 minutes, stating that he did not threaten or insult anyone, but simply criticized. He expressed his trust in the Turkish justice system.
During the hearing, Akın Gürlek’s lawyer requested to participate in the case, which led to the court accepting the request for crimes of threat and insult. However, the request to participate in the crime of targeting individuals involved in the fight against terrorism was rejected on the grounds that Gürlek was not directly affected. The hearing was adjourned to Monday, June 16th.
In the indictment, Ekrem Imamoglu faces a request for a prison sentence ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 7 years and 4 months, as well as a ban from holding public office for up to 7 years and 4 months.
In another case related to a tender in Beylikdüzü during his time as mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu appeared before the judge for the 9th time. The court noted that Imamoglu refused to attend the hearing through the SEGBİS system. After the lawyers’ statements, the prosecutor’s office was asked for their opinion, but they did not merge the file with another case involving some of the defendants. The judge decided to send the file to the Büyükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for further review and adjourned the hearing to July 11th.
Ekrem Imamoglu, as the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, is facing a political ban request of up to 7 years in this case, adding to the legal challenges he currently faces.
