Imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his legal team boycotted a critical court hearing on Thursday, denouncing its abrupt transfer to Silivri Prison as procedurally “unlawful,” according to AP News.
The case—centred on İmamoğlu’s public criticism of prosecutions targeting his Republican People’s Party (CHP) colleagues—could result in a four-year prison sentence and lifelong ban from politics if convicted. In a statement relayed from prison, İmamoğlu declared:
[This irregular hearing] does not comply with the principles of the trial. I refuse to be a part of such a process.
CHP Istanbul Chairman Özgür Çelik revealed the hearing was relocated from Çağlayan Courthouse to Silivri Prison—where İmamoğlu is detained—just 24 hours prior, violating standard legal notification protocols. Prosecutors allege İmamoğlu attempted to “influence an expert witness,” charges the mayor dismisses as fabricated to eliminate President Erdoğan’s chief rival.
The court adjourned proceedings until 26 September, but the boycott underscores deepening mistrust in Turkey’s judiciary.
This hearing is one of dozens of criminal cases against İmamoğlu since his March arrest on corruption and “terror-links” charges—an event that ignited Turkey’s largest protests in a decade. Over 2.2 million demonstrators flooded Istanbul alone, met by police deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, and mass detentions.
In total, 11 CHP mayors have now been removed from office, with five others suspended this week. Despite being jailed, İmamoğlu was formally nominated as the CHP’s 2028 presidential candidate, a direct challenge to Erdoğan.
Human Rights Watch labelled İmamoğlu’s detention a “flagrant abuse of the justice system,” while Germany summoned Turkey’s ambassador and France cancelled defence contracts 14. Nevertheless, Erdoğan’s government maintains the fiction of judicial independence, insisting courts operate “free from political involvement.”
