From ... in Political — Mar 3, 2026

Türkiye: Leading Opponent of Erdoğan on Trial

(Istanbul, March 3, 2026) – The Istanbul mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu will stand trial on March 9, 2026, as the central defendant in a politically motivated mass corruption prosecution, Human Rights Watch said today. Most of the 407 defendants worked for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. İmamoğlu has spent a year in detention during investigations and prosecutions targeting elected officials from the party with which he is affiliated, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Türkiye’s main opposition party. A court ordered his detention on the day party members selected him as their presidential candidate. Human Rights Watch issued a timeline setting out the sequence of government moves corroborating concerns that the cases targeting İmamoğlu and the party are politically motivated. “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 Human Rights watch, “Looking at these cases as a whole, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that prosecutors are trying to remove İmamoğlu from politics and discredit his party in ways that undermine democracy.” Human Rights Watch interviewed lawyers for the defendants, examined legal documents and public statements by the İstanbul public prosecutor’s office, and verified media reports. Researchers also analyzed presidential statements about İmamoğlu and other CHP officials.

The timeline of events created illustrates the scale since late 2024 of corruption and terrorism investigations that target CHP mayors and municipalities in Istanbul and other major cities, alongside efforts through the courts to discredit the national leadership of the CHP. İmamoğlu faces allegations that he used the cover of his public office from 2014 to 2025 to establish what the prosecution calls “the İmamoğlu criminal organization for illicit gain,” with the aim of enriching himself and enabling “the organization’s capture of the [Republican People’s] Party” and his election as president of Türkiye. If convicted on all counts, İmamoğlu could face a prison term of up to 1929 years. Similar to many other politically motivated trials in Türkiye, the bulk of the evidence consists of statements by 15 witnesses whose identities are withheld from the defense—“secret witnesses” — and from among 76 defendants in the trial who have agreed to testify in exchange for a possibly reduced sentence. Reliance on such evidence, along with prejudicial statements by prosecutors and Turkish President Erdoğan about İmamoğlu and the party, undermines İmamoğlu’s right to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said.

The jailing of İmamoğlu’s defense lawyer as a defendant in the case, the large number of defendants, and the complexity of the proceedings all contribute to serious fair trial concerns. In the March 2024 local elections, CHP received 37.8 percent of the vote nationally, surpassing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which received 35.5 percent and lost its lead for the first time in 22 years. Investigations against the CHP began in Istanbul after the October 2024 appointment of Deputy Justice Minister Akın Gürlek as Istanbul chief public prosecutor. On February 10, 2026, on completion of the investigations into İmamoğlu, Gürlek was appointed justice minister. Gürlek’s successive appointments highlight the flagrant nature of government influence over prosecutorial and judicial appointments and decision making in Türkiye, Human Rights Watch said.

The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office’s investigation coincided with the mayor’s political rise. On February 22, 2025, the day after İmamoğlu announced his presidential candidacy and officially submitted his application to the CHP, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into an allegation that İmamoğlu’s university diploma—a requirement for presidential candidacy—had been falsified. On March 18, 2025, four days before party members were due to select him, Istanbul University cancelled the diploma, and the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office ordered İmamoğlu’s arrest on March 19 in connection with an organized crime and corruption investigation and for terrorism links. A court ordered his detention on suspicion of organized crime and corruption on March 23, the day his party was due to confirm his presidential candidacy. In October, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office began a third investigation against İmamoğlu for espionage, alleging he had leaked data about voters to foreign countries, and a court also ordered his detention in this separate investigation. On February 4, 2026, he was indicted for espionage, with three others, and faces a 15-20 year prison term if convicted. In addition to the cases against İmamoğlu, legal processes challenging the validity of CHP leadership elections at party congresses, and the detention and removal of CHP mayors in other Istanbul districts and in major cities like Adana and Antalya, undermine the ability of the CHP to operate effectively as an opposition party to compete with the ruling Justice and Development Party-Nationalist Action Party (AKP-MHP) coalition in future presidential, parliamentary and local elections. This impact strongly suggests that the detention of İmamoğlu and other elected mayors, as well as the criminal proceedings brought against them, have an improper purpose and violate the safeguards in article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits states from using restrictions on rights for purposes other than those for which they were intended.

The cases also raise concerns about the Turkish authorities’ interference with the rights to political participation, to freedom of expression, and to a fair trial. Independent TV news channels perceived as being close to the political opposition have faced fines, broadcast bans, investigations, and detentions of journalists for their critical news coverage of the arrest of İmamoğlu and the crackdown on the opposition. “Opposition parties and politicians that can function freely are a crucial element of a democratic system and ensure voters have a real choice in free and fair elections,” Ward said. “With the president declaring the guilt of his rivals, prosecutors jailing and seeking to disqualify İmamoğlu and other elected officials, and a barrage of cases all against one party, the democratic process in Türkiye has never looked at greater risk.” In the 2024 local elections, under recently-elected leader, Özgür Özel, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) receives 37.8 percent of the vote nationally, surpassing the Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the first time in 22 years. Ekrem İmamoğlu wins his second term as CHP mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). The Council of Judges and Prosecutors appoints Akın Gürlek— deputy minister of justice from June 2022 to October 2024—as chief public prosecutor of the Istanbul Courthouse. Gürlek goes on to oversee all the main investigations targeting the IMM and Mayor İmamoğlu and other Istanbul-based investigations against the CHP. In a speech to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) provincial chairs, President Erdoğan questions Özgür Özel’s leadership of the CHP by asserting that the November 4-5, 2023 congress at which Özel was elected leader was conducted in a “dubious” manner. Erdoğan repeats the claim on October 27 and again on November 27. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders the arrest of Ahmet Özer, CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district for alleged “membership” of the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). A court orders Özer’s detention, and he is replaced as mayor with a government-appointed “administrator,” the Istanbul deputy governor. President Erdoğan files lawsuits for criminal defamation and non-pecuniary damages against CHP leader Özel and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor İmamoğlu over their critical remarks at a rally held in Esenyurt on October 31, in response to the detention and removal from office of Mayor Özer. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders the arrest of a second CHP mayor, Rıza Akpolat, from Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, in the context of an organized crime and corruption investigation where the main defendant is businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktaş entailing the alleged rigging of bids for tenders and other crimes in Beşiktaş and other CHP municipalities. A court orders the detention of Akpolat, Aktaş, and others, and on the same day Erdoğan makes a speech directed at Özel and the CHP, using a proverbial expression translatable as: “They know very well that worse is coming; that’s why they’re panicking.” Three days later, jailed Esenyurt CHP Mayor Özer is detained for a second time in the same corruption investigation. Referring to the arrest that day of Cem Aydın, president of CHP’s national youth branch for a tweet of a video criticizing Chief Prosecutor Akin Gürlek, İmamoğlu makes a speech at a panel in which he criticizes Gürlek’s “reasoning” as “rotten” and condemns the dawn arrests he holds Gürlek responsible for. Gürlek initiates an investigation against İmamoğlu on the same day alleging that İmamoğlu has targeted him as an official involved in counterterrorism and insulted and threatened him. İmamoğlu holds a press conference alleging that the same court expert has repeatedly been appointed in investigations involving CHP municipalities and has issued unfavorable reports in bad faith.

The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office immediately launches an investigation against İmamoğlu for his remarks and, on February 14, indicts him for “attempting to influence a judicial official, expert or witness,” seeking a prison sentence of two to four years, and requesting that he be banned from politics. İmamoğlu is summoned to testify at the Istanbul Courthouse for his remarks against Akın Gürlek on January 20 and his remarks against the court expert on January 27. He is subsequently indicted on February 5 for targeting a public official engaged in counterterrorism , insulting a public official, and threats. On the day İmamoğlu testifies, the CHP’s campaign bus is prevented from approaching the courthouse, and police use pepper spray on people gathered to show support for İmamoğlu.

The İstanbul public prosecutor’s office opens an investigation and, on May 8, indicts CHP Istanbul Chair Özgür Çelik and 25 other CHP officials for multiple crimes including violating the Law on Demonstrations and Protests. Months after Erdoğan’s October and November speeches describing the CHP congress at which Özel was chosen as leader as “dubious,” the Ankara prosecution office makes a statement revealing that there is an investigation into CHP’s 2023 national congress. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launches an investigation and police then arrest the CHP deputy mayors of Istanbul’s Kartal and Ataşehir districts and seven CHP municipal council members from Tuzla, Adalar, Beyoğlu, Şişli, Üsküdar, Sancaktepe, and Fatih municipalities. On February 13, a court places them in pretrial detention on suspicion on “membership of a terrorist organization,” and on March 6 they are indicted on this charge. The minister of justice says in an interview on the NTV television channel that “Rumors [of a fraudulent process to elect Özgür Özel as party leader] started after the CHP’s November 2023 congress... If concrete evidence emerges, the investigation will continue...” İmamoğlu submits his application to participate in the internal party election to become the CHP’s presidential candidate in a future presidential election. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launches an investigation against İmamoğlu for allegedly having a fake university diploma, on charges of “forgery of official documents,” and on February 26 summons him to testify. Under Türkiye’s constitution, holding a university degree is among the eligibility requirements for presidential candidates. The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office orders the arrest of Alaattin Köseler, CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Beykoz district, on suspicion of organized crime, bid rigging for tenders, and misuse of public office. On March 3, a court orders him and 12 others’ held in pretrial detention pending completion of the investigation, and the Interior Ministry removes him from office. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launches an investigation into allegations that the CHP Istanbul provincial congress of October 8, 2023, at which Istanbul provincial party leader Özgür Çelik and others were selected followed a fraudulent vote. Istanbul University annuls İmamoğlu’s university diploma four days before he is due to be selected as the CHP’s presidential candidate. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders police to arrest İmamoğlu from his home in the early morning on suspicion of organized crime, corruption, and terrorism links. Police also arrest Resul Emrah Şahan, CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district, Murat Çalık, CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district, and over 100 municipal employees, bureaucrats, and others in this first wave of detentions in the scope of the investigation against İmamoğlu and the IMM. In a speech to former AKP MPs, President Erdoğan refers to the allegations of corruption against İmamoğlu, saying: “They [the CHP] can’t say there’s no corruption, that the diploma was earned honestly.” İmamoğlu is remanded to pretrial detention by an Istanbul court on suspicion of corruption and organized crime on the day he is selected by CHP members as the party’s presidential candidate in a future presidential election.

The court also orders the detention of the Sisli and Beylikdüzü mayors, both from the CHP, and over 40 others.

The Interior Ministry removes İmamoğlu and the other two mayors from office. In a speech to the AKP parliamentary group President Erdoğan uses the metaphor of an octopus with many tentacles, saying “with the latest operation, the scale of the ongoing scandals driven by a bribery and extortion mechanism enveloping the entire city almost like an octopus came to light....Where the tentacles of the octopus whose head is in Istanbul extend will of course be seen soon.” The Ankara public prosecutor’s office summons 86 people, including İmamoğlu, to give statements in relation to a criminal investigation into the CHP’s November 2023 congress at which Özel was elected leader. A hearing begins at the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance of a case brought by a complainant who is a former CHP mayor demanding the invalidation of the November 2023 CHP Congress at which Özel was elected party leader (At the October 24 hearing, the court rejects the case).

The complainant, who was expelled from the party in December 2024 over fundamental criticism of party policy, had alleged leading people in the party had paid delegates to vote for them. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders a second wave of arrests of 52 IMM officials and their alleged associates in the corruption investigation of whom a court orders the pretrial detention of 18. İmamoğlu’s Turkish-language X account with 9.7 million followers is blocked in Turkey, after X complies with a Turkish court order. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a speech delivered at the AKP parliamentary group meeting comments on the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality investigation says: “The ongoing investigation in Istanbul [concerns] an example of a criminal organization unprecedented in the history of the Republic.

The actions [it has] taken have reached dimensions that threaten national security by revealing organized corruption and extortion.” Third and fourth waves of arrests are carried out in connection with the Istanbul public prosecutor’s investigation against the IMM. In a third wave of arrests, gendarmes arrest 22 people, among them those working in municipality-associated companies on public relations, media, and cultural activities. Courts subsequently order the detention of seven. In a fourth wave of arrests, 49 are taken into custody of whom courts detain 25. Despite having no authority to do so, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office issues a request to the IMM to ban the use of content featuring İmamoğlu’s photo, video, and voice on the municipality’s public transportation system, and on bill boards.

The IMM complies with this. In a speech in Istanbul, President Erdoğan repeats the metaphor of an octopus with many tentacles to describe the criminal network and activities he alleges İmamoğlu and others are involved in: “Just about every day, the criminal organization’s theft and deception is revealed. How they plundered Istanbul’s resources.

The tentacles of the octopus stretching from Istanbul to Türkiye and abroad are being exposed one by one.” The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launches an investigation against acting IMM Mayor Nuri Aslan, formerly a CHP member of the IMM municipal council, for allegedly threatening security officers who would not allow him into the Istanbul Courthouse where those arrested in the fourth wave of the IMM operation had been brought to testify before the prosecutor. The Ankara public prosecutor’s office issues an indictment against İmamoğlu and 11 other CHP officials, accusing them on the basis of vague witness testimony of paying people to vote for Özgür Özel as leader at the November 2023 CHP party congress.

The offense of falsifying a vote at a party congress in violation of the Political Parties Law is punishable with a one-to-three-year prison term. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders the arrest of the CHP mayors of Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece, Avcılar, and Gaziosmanpaşa districts, and also the arrest and transfer to Istanbul of the CHP mayors of the Ceyhan and Seyhan districts in Adana province. A court in Istanbul orders the detention of the five mayors along with 17 individuals out of 38 taken into custody. On the day the five mayors are detained, an Istanbul court releases from pretrial detention and places under house arrest Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, a businessman under investigation on suspicion of being the leader of a criminal organization and criminal activities relating to municipal tenders in Istanbul and other CHP district municipalities. As in the case of other businessmen whose statements provide the main evidence in the cases against İmamoğlu, Aktaş benefits from the “effective repentance” law, allowing a suspect to potentially receive a reduced prison term in exchange for information about other suspects accused in the same investigation. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launches an investigation into Özgür Özel, accusing him of threatening to obstruct judicial duties and insulting a public official on the basis of remarks directed at the chief prosecutor during a speech criticizing footage from the fifth wave of arrests against mayors and others broadcast on TV.

The footage showed a large number of arrested individuals lined up in a single file and under heavy police and gendarmerie escort. Upon the request of Istanbul public prosecutor’s office, an Istanbul court orders the detention Mehmet Pehlivan, İmamoğlu’s main defense lawyer on the basis of a witness statement associating him with the alleged crimes of his client. In a bribery investigation conducted by the Antalya public prosecutor’s office, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality CHP Mayor Muhittin Böcek is arrested and jailed pending trial. In the scope of the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office investigation into İmamoğlu and the IMM, Adana Metropolitan CHP Mayor Zeydan Karalar is placed in pretrial detention. Adıyaman CHP Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere is released with a judicial control order in the same investigation. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders police to arrest Şile CHP Mayor Özgür Kabadayı and, on July 14, a court places him and four municipal officials in pretrial detention on suspicion of organized crime and corruption. İmamoğlu is convicted to a one-year-seven-month prison sentence on two charges of threats and insulting a public official for threatening Gürlek and acquitted of targeting a public official engaged in counterterrorism over his criticisms of the Istanbul chief prosecutor.

The case is under appeal at this writing. CHP leader Özgür Özel alleges in a press conference unfair and illegal practices in investigations against CHP municipalities, claiming prosecutors pressured detainees to testify against İmamoğlu and other municipal officials and to fabricate testimony in exchange for release.

The party submits a petition to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors outlining the claims with a demand for investigation of the relevant prosecutors. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office orders police to arrest İnan Güney, mayor of Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, and 43 others on suspicion of organized criminal activity and corruption and, on August 19, a court rules for the detention of the mayor and 16 others. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launches an investigation into Özgür Özel for comments criticizing Akın Gürlek during a speech at an August 27 rally in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district. Özel said: “If you say, ‘I am a man of law,’ if you say, ‘I am going after corruption,” if you say, “I am honourable, I treat everyone equally,’ right then, let me see you go to [investigate] the AKP municipalities where Aziz Ihsan Aktaş worked!” The Ankara prosecution office also launches an investigation into Özel for “insulting a public official” and “threats” to Akın Gürlek. The first trial of a CHP Istanbul district mayor for alleged corruption begins with the trial of Beykoz CHP Mayor Alaattin Köseler and 25 others accused of organized criminal activity including bid rigging. Köseler is released on September 6, but detained again after the prosecutor appeals the release order. The Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance cancels the result of the October 8, 2023 Istanbul CHP provincial congress and removes chair Özgür Çelik and board, replacing them with an administrator.

The decision follows an application to the court by a CHP member making claims that, similar to the national CHP Congress in November 2023, the leadership were elected by means of a fraudulent vote. The Istanbul 72nd Criminal Court of First Instance approves the indictment against CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik for alleged “election fraud and violation of the Political Parties Law” in the 2023 Congress election.

The public prosecutor’s office is seeking prison sentences of 1 to 3 years for 10 party executives, including Özgür Çelik, plus detained Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney and Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat detained in the scope of separate organized crime and corruption investigations.

The first hearing took place on January 6, 2026, and the case is continuing at this writing. Police surround the CHP Istanbul provincial headquarters barring entry, with court-appointed administratorGürsel Tekin entering the building a day later to take up his office.

The Istanbul governor bans demonstrations in six nearby districts for 72 hours. A court orders the detention the Istanbul Şişli district Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan for a second time for organized crime and corruption. The regional appellate court upholds the conviction of İmamoğlu and his sentence of two years, seven months and 15 days in prison for allegedly insulting the Supreme Election Board by saying “those who cancelled the March 31 [2019 Istanbul mayoral] election are fools” in response to the then-interior minister who had called him a fool.

The case goes to a further appeal and is currently pending review before the Court of Cassation. If upheld, İmamoğlu would face a ban from politics. İmamoğlu is acquitted of charges of alleged bid rigging during his term as mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district (2014-19) in a trial that had started in January 2023. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office issues an indictment, discussed in the media before it is accepted by the court on November 5, against businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktaş and Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, six other CHP mayors and almost 200 other defendants.

The indictment charges Aktaş with leading a criminal organization, embezzlement through illegally obtained public tenders, bribery, and other crimes, and Mayor Akpolat with membership of a criminal organization and multiple corruption offenses. Among the 200 defendants are Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Ozer, Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, and Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin.

The indictment refers to the “Ekrem İmamoğlu criminal enterprise,” and, while İmamoğlu is not indicted the formulation in the indictment foreshadows the theory of crime in the subsequent November 2025 indictment against İmamoğlu in the IMM case. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office opens a new espionage investigation against İmamoğlu and summons him and others to testify before the prosecutor. On October 27, a court then issues a new detention order against him, his campaign manager Necati Özkan, and journalist Merdan Yanardağ on suspicion of political espionage (Turkish Penal Code, article 328/1). The investigation is based on allegations by Hüseyin Gün, another suspect already detained in the investigation, that municipal data was shared with foreign countries. The first hearing begins of a criminal case against İmamoğlu and 11 other CHP officials, filed before the Ankara 26th Criminal Court of First Instance over allegations, repeatedly mentioned by President Erdoğan, that they were elected fraudulently at the CHP’s November 2023 Congress.

The case is continuing. Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek holds a news conference announcing that the investigation in which İmamoğlu is detained has concluded with an indictment against him and 406 others, of whom 105 are held in pretrial detention.

The indictment accuses İmamoğlu of being the leader of a criminal organization, which Gürlek and the indictment refer to as the “İmamoğlu criminal organization for illicit gain,” and multiple corruption and bribery-related crimes. The 3,741-page indictment describes the aim of the criminal organization as personal enrichment for İmamoğlu and attaining political power by taking over the CHP and becoming president of Türkiye. The first paragraph of the indictment refers to the “İmamoğlu criminal organization for illicit gain” as resembling an octopus with many tentacles, a metaphor first used regarding the IMM investigation by President Erdoğan back in March and repeated in May. The possible prison term for İmamoğlu, if convicted, is up to 1,929 years.

The indictment is given to the media at the same time as it is delivered to Istanbul Assize Court No. 40, and the court accepts the indictment on November 25.

The first trial hearing is scheduled to take place on March 9, 2026. Separately on November 11, a court releases former Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer from pretrial detention in the scope of the investigation into his alleged bid-rigging for which he was detained in January. Previously released in July in the terrorism case against him, the second release order ensures he can leave prison though the trials against him continue. Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek gives an interview to the Yeni Şafak newspaper, a government-aligned media outlet, in which he explicitly labels İmamoğlu as the leader of a criminal organization. He repeats the octopus metaphor to describe it. On the same day, Istanbul 40th Assize Court that will hear the case accepts the indictment. Former Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer is convicted of “membership of a terrorist organization” and sentenced to a prison term of six years three months.

The conviction is under appeal at this writing. The first day begins of a one-month-long hearing of the prosecution of seven CHP mayors among 200 defendants charged with alleged corruption. Defendants include businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, Avcılar Mayor Utku Caner Çaykara, Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar, and Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin. On February 6, Zeydan Karalar was released from detention. The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office indicts İmamoğlu for espionage. Also indicted are campaign manager Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ, and Hüseyin Gün, the individual himself detained since June 30, 2025, for alleged espionage activities who testified against İmamoğlu alleging that data concerning Istanbul voters was leaked to foreign countries.

The trial is due to begin on May 11. By presidential decree, Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek is appointed justice minister, also making him ex officio chair of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, the main body administering the judiciary and prosecutorial authorities in Türkiye whose members are mostly appointed by the executive. On February 20, Istanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor Can Tuncay responsible for terrorism and organized crime investigations, and one of the prosecutors who signed off on both the IMM and espionage indictments against İmamoğlu, is appointed deputy justice minister. The prosecutor of Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece courthouse indicts Ekrem İmamoğlu and 11 former municipal officials for "abuse of office" on the basis that during İmamoğlu’s term as Beylikdüzü mayor (2014-19) the municipal council exceeded its authority by agreeing to cover expenses for his use of a private car from his own company as his official car. If convicted, İmamoğlu and co-defendants could face a six-month to two-year prison term. A trial date is yet to be announced. Multiple Cases Against İmamoğlu Since first winning the Istanbul mayoral election in 2019, İmamoğlu has faced several abusive prosecutions, alongside multiple civil cases. He has been prosecuted for political speeches that have not advocated violence and are firmly within the boundaries of protected free speech. Notable among them is his 2022 conviction for allegedly insulting members of the Supreme Election Council (YSK), that resulted in a two year, seven month prison term and political ban.

The conviction is currently on appeal before the Court of Cassation. İmamoğlu has also been prosecuted and convicted for criticizing Gürlek, the chief prosecutor, who directly oversaw the main criminal investigation against him. After describing Gürlek’s “reasoning” as “rotten,” İmamoğlu was indicted on February 5, 2025, on charges of targeting a counterterrorism official, insulting a public official, and making threats, and was convicted on the latter two offenses on July 16 and sentenced to 20 months in prison. For a prosecutor to file a personal criminal complaint against someone whose investigation they are overseeing is an unacceptable conflict of interest. That conviction is on appeal. İmamoğlu was indicted again on June 24, 2025, after a prosecutor accused him of slander on the basis of statements İmamoğlu made during an interrogation on March 23, 2025. İmamoğlu made a payment to settle the case out of court and have the charge dropped.

These cases underscore the problematic nature of Türkiye’s criminal defamation laws. European Court of Human Rights judgments have repeatedly ordered changes to the laws to protect the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. In September 2024, İmamoğlu was acquitted of charges, brought in January 2023, that he had rigged tendering bids during his term as mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district (between 2014 and 2019) before he was elected mayor of Istanbul. İmamoğlu is also currently on trial on charges of having a forged university diploma on the grounds that his 1990 transfer from a university in northern Cyprus to Istanbul University was not lawful. He was indicted for this offense on July 4, 2025. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case The main case against İmamoğlu, which led to his March 19, 2025, arrest and pre-trial detention, is the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality organized crime and corruption case.

The November 2025 indictment accuses İmamoğlu of being the leader of a criminal organization that committed 18 corruption offenses relating to 142 criminal acts over a 10-year period with the aim of winning political power.

The prosecutor alleges İmamoğlu ran a criminal enterprise dating back to 2015, the year after he was elected mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district. Of the 18 corruption-related offenses charged, most are connected to alleged rigging of tenders (70 counts), and others include alleged defrauding of public institutions, bribery, extortion, and laundering proceeds of crime. Six of İmamoğlu’s co-accused have been indicted as leading members of the criminal organization and 92 as members, with others accused of being accessories who committed crimes. Among the defendants are the CHP mayors of Istanbul’s Şişli and Beylikdüzü districts, municipal personnel, advisers, and businesspeople running or employed by private businesses working for the municipality and therefore categorized as business “associates” of the municipality. Of the 407 defendants in the indictment, 105 are in pretrial detention, and 170 have been released subject to judicial control orders such as travel bans. In alleging that İmamoğlu and others operated a criminal organization with a “mission and duties independent of public duties,” the prosecutor’s contention is that their crimes were not committed in the course of their official duty to provide and run municipal services in a city of over 16 million people, but rather an organized criminal enterprise that operated parallel to and concealed by the suspects’ municipality duties.

The prosecutor contends that İmamoğlu and his close advisers set up a “system,” in which money from tenders and municipality projects was unlawfully syphoned off with the objective of enriching İmamoğlu and others, alongside the aim of furthering his political ascent within the CHP and with the intent to become president of Türkiye. İmamoğlu's lawful political ambitions are characterized in the indictment as criminal in nature.

The indictment claims that over a 10-year period, the criminal organization defrauded public services of 160 billion Turkish Lira (US$ 3.9 billion ) and US$24 million. Alleged espionage On October 27, 2025, a court ordered İmamoğlu’s detention a second time on the basis of an espionage investigation, under Turkish Penal Code, article 328/1, accusing him of sharing data about Istanbul voters with foreign countries. On February 4, 2026, İmamoğlu was indicted for espionage along with three others – his campaign manager, Necati Özkan, a journalist, Merdan Yanardağ, and Hüseyin Gün, who was previously detained for espionage and testified against İmamoğlu. That trial will begin on May 11. Imposing detention as part of a criminal investigation related to additional charges based on the same set of facts is a tactic that prosecutors have previously used to ensure that the human rights defender Osman Kavala and the politician Selahattin Demirtaş would not be released in the scope of the main investigations against them. Human Rights Watch is concerned that the same tactic, a misuse of criminal law, is being weaponized against İmamoğlu. By improperly reusing alleged facts and evidence from the main Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality indictment to file a separate espionage case, the prosecution and court are creating an insurance policy to keep İmamoğlu detained in the event his release is ordered in the course of the main trial against him. Cases Against Other Elected CHP Officials The first Istanbul-based investigation involving elected CHP officials began on October 30, 2024, with the arrest and removal from office of the CHP Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer. Özer, a former academic who is Kurdish, was indicted for “membership of an armed organization,” the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), for which he was convicted without credible evidence on January 23, 2026. That conviction, and the continuing separate trial of two deputy mayors and seven council members from nine CHP municipalities, are based on the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office’s unsupported claim that PKK leaders ordered the CHP and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) to adopt an electoral strategy in the March 31, 2024 local elections in Istanbul, by which DEM candidates stood for election on the CHP ticket.

The prosecutor’s office alleges that what appeared to be a regular and lawful electoral pact, called the “urban consensus” strategy by the politicians and the media, to maximize electoral gains for the CHP, in fact constituted a terrorist offense because those involved were acting under PKK orders. Ekrem İmamoğlu, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, and two others were arrested in March 2025 and also placed under investigation in this case. No charges have yet been brought against them. In January 2025, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office began another line of investigation into CHP municipalities focused on alleged organized criminal activity and corruption. This began with the arrest and detention that month of Rıza Akpolat, CHP mayor of the Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, and Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, a businessman who had won tenders with CHP municipalities, and a second detention order against the already detained Esenyurt Mayor Özer. Five other CHP mayors were arrested and detained in the same investigation in May: the mayors of Istanbul’s Avcılar district, Adana’s Ceyhan and Seyhan districts and, in July, the mayors of Adıyaman and Adana.

The seven mayors were among 200 defendants indicted in October 2025, and are on trial in proceedings that began on January 27.

The Adana mayor was released on February 5. Although facing the highest possible prison sentence among all the defendants—over 700 years—Aktaş was released because he was providing evidence against other suspects under “effective repentance” provisions in Turkish law, which allow defendants to become “informants” in exchange for reduced prison terms. A further trial involving alleged corruption by an elected CHP official began on September 2, 2025.

The mayor of Istanbul’s Beykoz district, who has been in detention since February 27, 2025, faces various charges of organized criminal activity and bid rigging on tenders. Cases Against CHP Party Leadership Cases opened against the CHP leadership followed complaints by a few CHP members or former members who claimed that Özel’s election as party chair secretary at the November 4-5, 2023 national CHP party congress was conducted in a fraudulent manner. On October 24, 2025, an Ankara civil court dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former CHP member seeking the cancellation of the result of the congress, and thus removed a challenge to Özel’s right to be party leader. A criminal case in the Ankara 26th Criminal Court of First Instance against İmamoğlu and 11 others accusing them of paying people to vote for Özel at the congress is ongoing. According to his lawyers, government and other authorities have brought 49 civil lawsuits against Özel. Gürlek, the chef prosecutor, has filed 11 and President Erdoğan 16, seeking damages for Özel’s criticism of them in political speeches.

There have also been legal efforts to discredit the October 8, 2023, Istanbul CHP provincial congress, claiming the vote to elect Özgür Çelik as provincial party head was fraudulent. One complaint by a CHP member led to a court in Istanbul on September 2, 2025, ordering the congress canceled, removing Çelik and those elected with him and replacing them with a court-appointed administrator.

The CHP held another provincial congress on October 19, 2025, at which Çelik was re-elected provincial party head, a role he has continued to discharge. On September 2, 2025, a separate criminal case was opened against Çelik and others elected in the congress for the allegedly fraudulent vote. Days after the court-ordered removal of Çelik, police surrounded the CHP Istanbul headquarters to prevent staff and officials from entering and on September 8 facilitated access by the court-appointed administrator. On November 11, 2025, after announcing the İmamoğlu and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality indictment, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office sent a written communication to the chief prosecutor of the Court of Cassation citing alleged “election manipulation” and “illegal financing” by the CHP, in violation of the Political Parties Law and the Constitution (articles 68 and 69).

The chief prosecutor has not yet responded but has powers to initiate closure cases or recommend other measures such as a restriction of treasury support to a political party. Whether or not the Istanbul prosecutor’s move results in any such action, it signals an intention to take action specifically against the CHP as a party. Human Rights Concerns Detentions and prosecutions for an improper purpose Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to prohibit misuse of power, bans restrictions on rights and freedoms “for any purpose other than those for which they have been prescribed.” The European Court of Human Rights has made clear that violations of article 18 are particularly grave because of the fundamental threat to democracy implicit in such abuse.

The court’s judgment on the detention of Selahattin Demirtaş emphasized this point.

The circumstances under which the detention and trial of İmamoğlu and other CHP officials are being pursued suggests the authorities’ actions are driven by an improper purpose.

The actual purpose of these cases is to impede the party’s ability to function as an effective opposition party and to prevent İmamoğlu and other elected CHP mayors and officials from exercising their rights to political participation. Prejudicial statements President Erdoğan has made repeated political speeches alleging that both the Istanbul mayor and national leadership had committed crimes. As the timeline shows, the president referred repeatedly to the CHP congresses as “dubious,” warned that the arrest of mayors was just the beginning of the revelation of more crimes (using a proverbial analogy of “the big radish is in the saddlebag,” translatable as “worse is coming”). On March 26 and May 25, 2025, he used the phrase “an octopus with many tentacles” to describe İmamoğlu’s alleged criminal organization within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. This description was used in exactly the same way in the November indictment and repeated by the chief prosecutor in an interview. In its judgments concerning the politically motivated detentions of Demirtaş and Kavala, the European Court found that the president’s and ministers’ pronouncements about their guilt was one factor in finding that their detention had pursued an ulterior political motivation in violation of article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Throughout the investigation into İmamoğlu and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office has made written public statements to the media referring to the “İmamoğlu criminal organization.” There have been repeated leaks to government-aligned media of incriminating allegations against İmamoğlu and others in the case, some of which are drawn from the statements of suspects seeking reduced sentences under “effective repentance” provisions.

The circulation of this kind of information to the media, a common feature of political investigations in Türkiye, is prejudicial to defendants and undermines the fairness of the proceedings against them. On November 11, 2025, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office made available to the media a 3,741-page pdf of the indictments, and Chief Prosecutor Gürlek held a news conference to explain its contenton the same day the indictment was submitted to the court for review. Circulating the documents before the court had conducted its own review and approved the formal start of the trial is a violation of Türkiye’s criminal procedure. Lawyers told Human Rights Watch that they often got information, including indictments, through media channels.

The indictment against Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer also circulated among journalists for days before it was officially accepted by a court and lawyers acting for Özer were notified. Barriers to effective defense The approach taken by the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality criminal investigation and indictment raises a number of serious concerns relating to fair trial rights.

The decision to indict so many people at once and to investigate such a large number of facts relating to a 10-year time period, resulting in an indictment of over 3,700 pages, suggests the trial proceedings could continue for many years, as other mass trials in Türkiye have done.

The volume of the material presented as evidence risks overwhelming the process and undermines the ability of lawyers acting for defendants in the case to effectively represent their clients and mount an effective defense. Moreover, sufficient facilities are not being provided for detainees to prepare their own defense. According to information shared by İmamoğlu’s lawyer with Human Rights Watch, the indictment and its annexes—amounting to 80,000 pages—were provided to İmamoğlu on six DVDs. As a detainee, he is permitted to use a computer for only two hours per week. Reliance on secret witnesses, and “effective repentance” witnesses The bulk of the evidence in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case is based on the statements of 15 protected witnesses and statements from a small number among 76 other defendants who applied to become informants under “effective repentance” provisions. Chief Prosecutor Gürlek emphasized the key role of such evidence in this investigation in a media interview. Several lawyers intervewed raised concerns about the possible misuse of such “effective repentance” provisions offering the possibility of sentence reduction and, in particular, the risk that police and prosecutors may impose their own narrative on suspects in return for offers of release from detention. In addition, the use of secret witnesses imposes significant challenges for defendants and their lawyers. Both aspects undermine the fair trial rights of defendants to challenge effectively the case against them. CHP lawyers have alleged that some defendants in the investigation were subject to pressure and coercion before they decided to rely on “effective repentance” provisions. Some gave multiple statements to the prosecutor over months. One was released and then detained again. On August 14, 2025, in response to these allegations, Özel lodged a complaint with the Council of Judges and Prosecutors requesting an investigation into misconduct by the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office.

There is no information about whether the Council has conducted such an investigation, or its outcome. Detention of İmamoğlu’s lawyer İmamoğlu’s lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, was detained on June 19, 2025, as a suspect in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality investigation and has been held in pretrial detention since then. He will stand trial on March 9 with his client. Pehlivan is indicted for membership of a criminal organization and concealing evidence on the basis of vague and contradictory witness statements alleging that he gave instructions to other lawyers and advised there might be further arrests. His detention and prosecution raise serious concerns he has been targeted in retaliation for his work as a defense lawyer and the move to prosecute him is at least partially motivated by a desire to restrict Imamoğlu’s ability to exercise his right to a defense.

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