Political situation in Turkey

After the protests – Erdogan's rival gets prison sentence

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for insulting a political official, Reuters reports.

Imamoglu denies the charges and will appeal the verdict. But if the sentence is upheld, it could prevent him from running in the 2028 Turkish presidential election.

Imamoglu has long been a political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and when he was arrested in March on corruption charges, widespread protests erupted across the country. Imamoglu and his party say the charges against him are fabricated.

“I have fought against the abuse of the judiciary and against it being used as a political tool. This is truly an insult to our nation,” Imamoglu said after the verdict.

The arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu – what happened

• Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been arrested, accused of corruption and supporting a terrorist organization.
• The arrest came days before Imamoglu was expected to be named the opposition CHP presidential candidate for the 2028 elections.
• The incident sparked the largest protests in Turkey in over a decade, with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in at least 55 provinces.
• Imamoglu was detained and suspended from his mayoral post; he denies all charges and the opposition says the arrest is politically motivated.
• Nearly 1,900 people, including several journalists, have been arrested in connection with the protests, and support for Imamoglu has increased according to opinion polls.