An administrative court is expected to issue a ruling within 15 days in the case filed by jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu challenging Istanbul University’s revocation of his university diploma — a decision that will determine his eligibility to run as a presidential candidate.
İmamoğlu and Istanbul University presented sharply divergent legal arguments before the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court on Jan. 15 at the Silivri courthouse, where a large crowd gathered in support of him. The hearing was attended by CHP Chair Özgür Özel, members of İmamoğlu’s family, and other opposition figures.
Describing the case as politically motivated, İmamoğlu said, “This is an attempt to sideline a presidential candidate, and history will record it as such,” pointing to contradictions in the university’s handling of his 1990 transfer from Girne American University in Northern Cyprus to Istanbul University.
Addressing the court directly, İmamoğlu added: “All I ask of you is this: deliver a decision that is in line with the law, with conscience, and with a sense of justice. I know there will be pressure. Phones will ring. Messages will be sent. You will lose sleep at night… Today, history is offering you a great opportunity.”
The university’s defense took a different line. Representing Istanbul University, the lawyer said that administrative authorities had knowingly misused their powers during the 1990 transfer process. The defense said certain individuals identified regulatory gaps and exploited them, resulting in transfers that did not comply with the legal framework in force at the time.
The university maintained that once such irregularities were identified, the administration was obliged to correct them, even decades later. The counsel stressed that the case was not driven by present-day political considerations but by the need to restore legality in past administrative decisions.
One day before the operation launched against İmamoğlu and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality on March 19, Istanbul University revoked İmamoğlu’s English Business Administration diploma on March 18, 2025 — 31 years after it was issued — on the grounds of alleged irregularities in the transfer process.
Prior to the trial, İmamoğlu kicked off a discussion on the legitimacy of an election in his absence. “An election in which Ekrem İmamoğlu cannot participate, in which he cannot compete freely, would be an election in which the president’s legitimacy ends,” he said in response to questions from Cansu Çamlıbel of T24.
TENSION AHEAD OF HEARING
Tension flared ahead of the hearing as gendarmerie units intervened when a crowd seeking to follow the proceedings gathered outside the courthouse, leading to scuffles shortly before the session began.
The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said it has launched an investigation into acts constituting resistance and verbal abuse directed at gendarmerie personnel.
The hearing was held under heavy security measures. Gendarmerie teams blocked attempts to breach barricades and enter the courthouse, intervening with batons and pepper spray against those waiting inside and outside. Water cannons were also deployed.
CHP Çatalca Women’s Branch Neighborhood Chair Yasemin Ünlü was injured in the ensuing stampede and reportedly suffered a broken rib.
