Erdogan’s Opponent and 400 Others Are on Trial for Corruption in Turkey

The primary opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 23-year reign is Imamoglu, who has been imprisoned for almost a year. Only a few days after his arrest, he was chosen as the main opposition party’s nominee for a 2028 election.

According to Halk TV news channel and other media, the session started in a tense environment when Imamoglu asked to speak and the panel of judges denied his request. After accusing Imamoglu of interfering with the proceedings, the judges departed the courtroom. The trial was postponed until the afternoon.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, led by Imamoglu since 2019, employed the majority of the 402 defendants. In addition to journalists, several of the accused are elected politicians from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP.

Following Imamoglu’s arrest on March 19 of last year, there were weeks of mass protests—the biggest in Turkey in over ten years.

Among the 142 charges against him is the creation of the “Imamoglu criminal organization for profit” during his tenure as mayor of the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul in 2015. According to the 3,900-page indictment, the purpose was not just to enrich the accused through a system of payoffs and bid-rigging, but also to finance Imamoglu’s ascent within the CHP, which eventually led to his presidential candidacy.

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