The trial of the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglou starts again today, with the important personality of the Turkish opposition to he risks dismissal from office and exclusion from political life for four years if convicted, seven months before parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey.
The previous hearing on September 21, from which Imamoglu was absent and the press was barred, was quickly adjourned.
The 52-year-old Imamoglu, who managed to snatch from the hands of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the municipal elections the politically valuable municipality of the Turkish metropolis in two consecutive votes, is probably the best candidate of the opposition to claim next June the presidency of the country from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Imamoglu, a member of the main opposition CHP party, faces four years in prison for “insulting” members of the Supreme Electoral Council.
In March 2019, his narrow electoral victory in the municipal elections was annulled by the Turkish leadership that could not accept the loss of its mayorship Istanbul. Three months later, Ekrem Imamoglu won a landslide victory in the run-off of municipal elections. A few months after the election victory, Imamoglu declared that those who annulled his election were “idiots” – repeating the expression that a few hours earlier had been used against him by Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu.
His lawyer Kemal Polat denounced the “political trial”, recalling that any sentence for Imamoglu to more than a year in prison – “even a year and a day” – would automatically mean he is excluded from political life for four years.
Today’s trial comes a week after CHP chairman and potential presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu was charged with “spreading false news,” according to AFP and Agence France-Presse. Under the new disinformation law, Kilicdaroglu is at risk of being sentenced to three years in prison and consequently not being able to run for president.
According to the head of the CHP, the regime with this maneuver is trying “to ban our mayor from any political activity”.
“But I tell you clearly: Imamoglu is a big mouthful that will stick in your throat. We will not let anyone swallow Imamoglu,” Kilicdaroglu pledged.
Source: News Beast
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
