Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
On March 26, the 11th hearing in the trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his co-defendants on corruption charges was concluded, with proceedings shifting away from procedural debates toward the substance of testimonies. Discussions centered on statements by defendants and individuals who later withdrew their testimonies after invoking the remorse provisions, reviving debate over the strength of the indictment.
The trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on corruption charges began on March 9, with the main defendant’s plans to challenge the legitimacy of the trial muzzled by the court and the media. After waiting nearly a year, İmamoğlu and 402 co-defendants — 107 of whom are under pre-trial detention — finally got their day in court. The hearings began with a confrontation between the court and İmamoğlu over his desire to make his case. He was allowed to deliver only a short statement on the second day and may have to wait at least until mid-April — in the best-case scenario — to present his full defense.
Hearings have begun in a corruption probe involving municipalities run by the main opposition CHP, following investigations launched in March 2025. The case marks the first major trial stemming from the allegations, ahead of a separate prosecution involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu that is set to begin on March 9. The CHP’s legal strategy and the court’s approach to the defendants are expected to shape Turkey’s political agenda over the many years the trials are expected to take.
At the 41st hearing of the sweeping Istanbul Municipality corruption trial, nine more defendants were released ahead of Eid al-Adha, bringing the total number of remaining detainees to 68.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, the detained Istanbul mayor and the CHP's presidential candidate, shuttled between two courtrooms at the Silivri complex — and both hearings produced developments that cut against the prosecution's narrative.
Esra Işık, an activist from the village of İkizköy in Muğla’s Milas district who has spent years fighting to save her community's olive groves and farmland from coal mining expansion, was brought to her first court hearing on April 27 in handcuffs, escorted by gendarmerie officers from Şakran Prison in İzmir — more than 100 miles from her hometown where her case is being tried.
The Tele 1, under the administration of a trustee, has been put up for sale by the TMSF before even the first hearing of the case that led to the opposition broadcaster’s seizure.
As the first hearing in the main “corruption and bribery” case against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his colleagues approaches — along with the anniversary of his detention — CHP Chair Özgür Özel said there are preparations to delay the proceedings by another three months.
Former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya were ordered released at the fourth hearing of the case involving allegations of corruption by subcontractors at İZBETON AŞ, a subsidiary of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
A Turkish court has handed a four-year prison sentence to journalist Fatih Altaylı after he was convicted of threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Altaylı, known for his popular YouTube programs, denies the charges and plans to appeal, after prosecutors accused him of physically threatening the president based on remarks he made on his channel. He was arrested on June 22 and appeared before the judge for the second time at this week’s hearing. He was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for threatening the president. The court ruled that judicial control would be insufficient and ordered that his detention continue. Altaylı threw the notes and files in his hand after hearing the decision and left the courtroom.
No decision was reached at the second hearing of the case against two leaders of the top business group TÜSİAD for comments they made in speeches. In court, Orhan Turan, chair of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD), and Ömer Arif Aras, Chair of the High Advisory Council (YİK), denied the charges against them and requested acquittal.
Turkey’s main opposition CHP suffered a fresh blow as a court dissolved its largest provincial board in Istanbul over cash payment claims. The party now awaits either a Sept. 5 ruling by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) or a Sept.15 court hearing that could unseat Chair Özgür Özel’s administration. The CHP, which came to power at a November 2023 congress with the slogan “Change,” now risks being replaced by the team of former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The 45th Civil Court of First Instance ruled that irregularities in the October 2023 Istanbul provincial congress were “approximately proven.” The court suspended provincial chair Özgür Çelik, the executive and disciplinary boards, and 196 delegates. Attention has now turned to another court set to review the CHP’s 2023 congress in Ankara. “The Istanbul decision is null and void. We do not recognize it,” said Özel, vowing not to hand over CHP’s Istanbul building to the appointed administration. The Istanbul administration also started a stage-in protest in front of the building for 24 hours.