Turkey sentences Erdogan rival to prison for prosecutor threats

Beril Akman, Bloomberg News on Jul 16, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Turkey’s most popular opposition politician Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was sentenced to nearly two years in prison on Wednesday, after a court found him guilty of “threatening” Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.

The sentence falls short of banning Imamoglu from politics, which would have dealt a serious blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival. Imamoglu is expected to appeal the decision and the prison sentence won’t become effective until all legal means to contest it have been exhausted.

In Turkey, sentences under two years are typically converted to fines.

Imamoglu — jailed since March as part of a separate case — was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison, NTV news channel said. The mayor has denied the charges and accused the country’s judiciary of being politicized.

Imamoglu faces a number of other legal proceedings and the risk remains that he may be handed a political ban in separate cases.

Turkey’s opposition has been ensnared in a judicial crescendo since the start of the year, climaxing with the arrest of Imamoglu in March - days before he was due to announce a presidential bid. Authorities had thrown the candidacy into question the previous day, when they revoked the mayor’s university degree, a prerequisite to run for the country’s highest political office.

Before being arrested, Imamoglu was seen as a credible threat to Erdogan’s rule. Early last year, the 55-year old politician — a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP — extended his control over Turkey’s largest city after defeating the president’s handpicked candidate.

Since then, prosecutors have accused dozens of opposition mayors of corruption, leading some to be removed from office and others to be taken into custody. CHP’s chairman, Ozgur Ozel, was recently hit with an investigation for alleged insults against the president and threats to public officials, after slamming the government for the detention of three mayors.

CHP officials have condemned the crackdown as politically-motivated and independent watchers warn Turkey risks severe democratic backsliding. The government insists the judiciary is independent from the executive branch.

The cases are being closely watched by foreign investors trying to gage political uncertainty in the country, which CHP Chairman Ozel says is at risk of becoming an autocracy. Investors dumped the lira and other Turkish assets after Imamoglu’s detention, leading the central bank to raise interest rates and spend over $50 billion in reserves to defend the currency.