The mayor of Istanbul was sentenced to two years and seven months’ imprisonment. Ekrem Imamoglu, political opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was found guilty of insulting electoral council members, whom he called “crazy”.
The 52-year-old politician from the opposition CHP party can also no longer be politically active, the judge ruled. Imamoglu is a possible opponent of Erdogan in next year’s presidential elections. He should appeal. In that case, he can remain mayor for the time being.
Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of up to four years against Imamoglu last May. He acknowledged that he had expressed some criticism, but according to him it was a political discussion.
Imamoglu won the 2019 mayoral election in Turkey’s largest city. This was a setback for Erdogan’s AKP, who was once mayor of Istanbul. After allegations of irregularities, the electoral board decided to rerun the election. Imamoglu won again.
He then said that it is bad for Turkey’s international image that the elections have to be re-run and that the responsible officials are fools.
