Ekrem İmamoğlu, the former mayor of Istanbul and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's greatest potential rival, is now detained in Silivri prison, Europe's largest prison complex. He was arrested on 19 March 2025, and his trial began on 9 March 2026, on charges including fraud, organized crime, and leading a criminal organization. The case is expected to last up to 12 years, effectively barring him from running in the 2028 presidential elections.
Background and Arrest
İmamoğlu was elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019, ending Erdoğan's 25-year hold on the city. He won re-election in March 2024 with 51% of the vote. On 18 March 2025, three weeks after announcing his candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections, Istanbul University annulled his college diploma, making him ineligible to run. The next morning, police arrested him. He faces 142 charges, including bribery, racketeering, and aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' party, with a potential sentence of 2,430 years. A total of 104 other city officials were also arrested.
The Trial in Silivri
Silivri prison, located 83km from central Istanbul, houses the courthouse where the trial is taking place. More than 400 defendants are being tried; 68 are currently detained. The indictment, submitted on 11 November 2025, runs 3,739 pages. The court aims to complete the case in under 4,600 days, though proceedings have moved quickly. On the first day, opposition lawmakers and activists showed support, but by 13 April, the courtroom was nearly empty. Gendarmerie officers restricted access to reporters without government-issued press cards.
İmamoğlu is allowed to make statements daily. On one occasion, he called the process 'a form of torture' and said his colleagues had been 'forgotten inside the prison like stones cast into a well'. The judge has occasionally silenced him or cleared the courtroom. The trial has seen tensions, with the judge ordering İmamoğlu removed for greeting the audience and scolding journalists for asking questions.
Government Crackdown on Opposition
The Turkish government has targeted opposition-held municipalities nationwide. Since the March 2024 local elections, 30 municipalities representing 28 million people are run by government-appointed trustees, according to Oxford scholar Ezgi Başaran. Between March 2024 and May 2026, 76 mayors from different parties, including 17 from CHP, joined the AKP, allegedly to avoid İmamoğlu's fate. On 21 May, the court of appeals annulled CHP's November 2023 congress results, and on 24 May, riot police stormed CHP headquarters in Ankara.
Public opinion has shifted. In 2025, 65% of Turks believed İmamoğlu's arrest was 'unfair', but that dropped to below 50% in 2026. The Turkish lira, which collapsed after his arrest, requiring $50bn in central bank support, has somewhat stabilized. Opposition fatigue appears to have set in.
İmamoğlu's Defense and AI Campaign
İmamoğlu's campaign manager, Necati Özkan, presented a 243-page dossier detailing his financial transactions. He argued the charges were baseless, saying, 'They claim two times two equals purple.' İmamoğlu's ghostwriter, Stanford professor Ali Yaycıoğlu, fled Turkey on the night of the arrest and now advises the legal team from Harvard. In September 2025, CHP announced it would use AI and holograms in İmamoğlu's presidential campaign. An AI-generated video message shows İmamoğlu with Atatürk, saying, 'Neither pressures, nor obstacles, nor dark schemes will stop this march.'
İmamoğlu has already been convicted in an earlier case to two years and seven months in jail for insulting election officials, resulting in a ban on political activities. He has appealed. In court, he expressed hope for a female president, sparking rumors that his wife, Dilek İmamoğlu, might run in 2028.
Parallels to Erdoğan
İmamoğlu's rise and fall mirror Erdoğan's own trajectory. Erdoğan was elected Istanbul mayor in 1994 and imprisoned in 1999 for reciting a poem, spending four months in Pınarhisar prison. That boosted his popularity, and he became prime minister in 2003. However, İmamoğlu has already spent over a year in pre-trial detention and is unlikely to be released while Erdoğan remains in power.
As the court recessed, İmamoğlu shouted, 'Long live democracy, long live justice, long live the republic,' before disappearing through the courtroom trap door.
