Turkish prosecutors seek 2,000-year sentence for Ekrem Imamoglu

Turkish prosecutors are seeking a more than 2,000-year prison sentence for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, according to court documents revealed on Tuesday.

A nearly 4,000-page indictment charges the Republican People's Party (CHP) mayor with offences including running a criminal organisation, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and tender rigging.

According to state news service Anadolu Agency, the indictment could lead to up to 2,430 years behind bars for the popular opposition leader.

The indictment describes Imamoglu, who was arrested on 19 March, of being "like an octopus" in his manipulation of a widespread criminal network in Turkey.

The CHP, Turkey's largest opposition party, has accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of targeting it after its widespread success in the 2024 local elections.

Imamoglu, a popular opposition leader who was set to challenge Erdogan for the presidency in the next election, was arrested on 19 March.

Several other CHP mayors, officials and politicians have also been swept up in arrests since then.

The arrests have been denounced as politically motivated and sparked regular street protests and rallies by opposition leaders and activists, including those unaffiliated with the CHP.

Authorities have responded by detaining nearly 2,000 people, most of whom were later released.

Last month, a court in Ankara dismissed a separate corruption case that sought to unseat the leader of the CHP, saying it had no substance.

The case against Ozgur Ozel, leader of the CHP, which focused on alleged vote-buying at the CHP primary in November 2023, was rejected as "moot" by a judge at the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance.

'His only crime is running for presidency of this country!'

Ozgur Ozel, leader of the CHP

Ozel reaffirmed on Tuesday that Imamoglu would be the party's candidate in the next presidential election. 

"Can someone be both an electoral fraudster, hold a forged decree and be a thief, a terrorist and a spy all at the same time?" he said in an address to parliament

"If you accused an innocent person of just one of these crimes, it would be a great injustice. But when you put all of them on one person, it's a major crime... But his only crime is running for the presidency of this country!"