Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from his post as mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality after being arrested on corruption charges in March 2025, has been sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison and barred from holding political office in connection with a case involving alleged insults and defamation against the former mayor of the Istanbul district of Tuzla, Şadi Yazıcı.
İmamoğlu, who is currently in pre-trial detention over the corruption case linked to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality that came to light last year, appeared before the judge in proceedings in which he is accused of insulting the former mayor of Tuzla, Şadi Yazıcı, according to the Turkish television channel NTV. The prosecution had sought a prison sentence of up to 2 years and 4 months for him in relation to comments made by İmamoğlu against Yazıcı, which the latter regarded as derogatory and an attempt to discredit him publicly.
Court bars İmamoğlu from holding political office
İmamoğlu had already been tried for this same case three years ago and had been acquitted on two occasions. However, an appeal court overturned both verdicts, ruling that there had been irregularities during the legal proceedings. Finally, on 11 September, the new ruling against the deposed mayor of Istanbul was announced; he was required to appear once again before a court, which sentenced him to 2 years and 1 month in prison.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court also agreed to impose a political ban on Ekrem İmamoğlu. In his defence statement to the judge, İmamoğlu accused the court of being part of a political persecution against him and stated that legal proceedings follow one after another: “Before we can even explain the illegality of one investigation, another begins,” he declared.
Forcibly removed from the courtroom
After the sentence was announced, İmamoğlu reacted by saying: “This is a severe blow to a Turkish judiciary that is already weakened. The judges’ rulings are invalid.” Following these remarks, İmamoğlu was forcibly removed from the courtroom. His lawyer, Kemal Polat, criticised the change of judge and the verdict, which he described as “illegal”, and announced that they will appeal to the Supreme Court, according to local media reports.
Currently, due to his imprisonment, Ekrem İmamoğlu has been suspended from his duties as mayor, a role now being carried out by his deputy, Nuri Aslan. If, following the appeal to be lodged by his lawyer, the ruling is not overturned, the ban on engaging in any political activity will become final and İmamoğlu will officially and permanently lose his status as mayor of Istanbul, meaning that new elections will have to be held amongst the members of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council to elect a new mayor.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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