site.btaSuspended Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu Hearing Set for March 2026

The first hearing in the case against suspended Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on charges of leading an organized criminal group will take place on March 9, 2026, Turkiye’s State broadcaster TRT Haber said on Friday

The 3,900-page indictment was accepted by the court on November 25. It names 105 detainees and 407 suspects who will face the charges.

The Civil Inspection Board is listed as the complainant over suspected offences, while the alleged injured parties include the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Sisli Municipality.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking prison terms ranging from 849 to 2,430 years and six months on charges including forming and leading a criminal group, unlawful storage, copying and distribution of personal data, concealing evidence, obstructing communications, damaging public property, taking bribes, spreading false public information, extortion, fraud aimed at harming public bodies and society, laundering illegally obtained money, rigging tenders, deliberate environmental pollution, and breaches of the tax law and the law on forests and natural resources.

On December 10, Turkish media said a 2,000-seat courtroom would be built for the case, and the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye rejected a proposal for the hearings to be broadcast on State television TRT.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading figure in the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and widely seen as a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on March 19, 2025 and placed in pre-trial detention on March 23 in a corruption investigation that also targeted officials from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality; he was temporarily removed from office and the municipal council appointed an interim mayor.

His arrest triggered the largest wave of protests in Turkiye since 2013, with demonstrations and rallies in Istanbul and other cities calling for his release and denouncing what the opposition describes as the politicization of the judiciary: an accusation the authorities reject.

In late August 2025, a Eurocities delegation led by Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, including Sofia Mayor and B40 President Vassil Terziev, visited Istanbul, attended a CHP rally in the Beyoglu district, and handed over Eurocities’ Special Democracy Award to detained Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu via his wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, before visiting the Marmara (Silivri) Prison where he is held; Terziev and Athens Mayor Haris Doukas later co-authored a Politico opinion piece urging European institutions to step up support for local democracy and the rule of law in Turkiye.