Istanbul, Nov 11, (dpa/GNA) – Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday, demanded a prison sentence of up to 2,352 years for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, nearly eight months after the opposition politician was arrested and suspended from office, public broadcaster TNT reported.
The indictment accuses him of founding and leading a criminal organization, as well as bribery and money laundering among other charges, according to the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office. Acceptance of the indictment is considered a formality.
A lawyer for Imamoglu’s party told dpa that the allegations are completely unfounded, and that he expected to be acquitted in court.
Imamoglu, of the Republican People’s Party or CHP, is seen as a leading challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Critics see the legal action against him as a deliberate attempt by the government, to eliminate the strongest opposition party in the country.
The indictment is 3,900 pages long, and covers a total of 402 suspects, the broadcaster CNN TĂĽrk reported.
Imamoglu was arrested in March and removed from office, on charges of terrorism and corruption. He has been in custody ever since. The action against the popular politician, sparked the largest protests in Turkey in more than 10 years.
The CHP party unexpectedly emerged as the strongest force nationwide in the 2024 local elections, which many interpreted as a possible prelude to the replacement of President Erdogan’s AKP government.
Since then, the secular-oriented CHP has come under pressure. So far, hundreds of its members have been arrested and 17 of its mayors detained.
The government rejects criticism of these actions, claiming that the judiciary in the country is independent. However, international organizations and the European Commission have questioned this.
GNA