It has caused an uproar in Turkeythe request of the prosecution to be imposed on the former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamogloua prison sentence of more than 2,000 years.
The main opposition party, which includes jailed political leader Ekrem Imamoglu, dismissed the prosecutor’s proposal as “political propaganda”, with political divisions in Turkey deepening.
“With this indictment, the government has revealed that it wants to push this country away from democracy,” Deniz Yucel, spokesman for the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said in Ankara today. He added that it is not a legal, but a political text that targets the entire party.
THE Imamoglu is seen as a strong opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was arrested in March 2025 on charges of terrorism and corruption and was removed from his post as mayor of Istanbul.
Yesterday, Tuesday, the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office filed the indictment, requesting that Imamoglu be sentenced to a total of 2,430 years in prison for 142 crimes.
According to the indictment, Mr opposition politician accused of founding and leading a criminal organizationas well as bribery and money laundering, among other charges.
Accusations against the Imamoglu family and journalists
OR The prosecution is also seeking to convict more than 400 other suspectsincluding Imamoglu’s father and son.
They are accused of money launderinga charge that carries long prison terms, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Journalists are also included in the list of suspects, according to the same source.
Among the journalists charged is Rousen Çakır, one of the country’s most prominent liberal voices. According to Anadolu, accused of supporting a criminal organizationa charge that carries a prison sentence of up to four years.
The indictment must now be accepted by the courta process that is considered standard.