Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul and chief political rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was on July 16 sentenced to a 17-month prison term for insulting the city’s chief public prosecutor, Akin Gurlek, and also to a 2.5-month prison term for threatening him, according to local media reports.

The sentencing was handed down by Istanbul 14th (Agir Ceza) Heavy Penal Court. The hearings were held at Silivri Prison in Istanbul, where Imamoglu has been behind bars pending trial since mid-March.

The sentencing actually makes little difference to Imamoglu’s situation. He was incarcerated in Silivri as a result of a major corruption investigation and prosecution that observers say is patently a political move to snuff out the very real threat he poses to Erdogan’s chances of remaining president after the next election. No indictment in the case has been filed yet.

Countless court cases

Imamoglu’s legal status is that of a suspect jailed pending trial due to suspicion that there could be a potential escape and the spoliation of evidence. In normal circumstances, jail sentences in Turkey shorter than two years are delayed. However, Imamoglu faces countless court cases and investigations. So, he is supposed to serve the sentence after legal processes related to him end through higher courts.

Appealing “The Case of Fools”

During the hearing held on July 16, Imamoglu reflected on how  in December 2022 he received a 31.5-month prison sentence and ban from participation in politics for in 2019 calling members of the Supreme Election Council, or YSK, “fools”.

This case, known as “Ahmak Davasi”, or “The Case of Fools”, awaits a hearing at the court of appeals. But the ruling of that court will not be final. Appeals at higher courts will follow.

14 cases in all

Imamoglu faces 14 court cases in all, namely eight penal suits and six suits for damages, Alican Uludag (@alicanuludag), an Ankara-based courthouse reporter who is closely following the cases, wrote on July 4 in a tweet.

On July 4, Gurlek’s office filed a fresh case, concerning an alleged university degree forgery, at a panel court of first instance.

Terrorism investigation continues

Imamoglu is also being investigated for terrorism in parallel to the corruption prosecution. When he was detained on March 19 in a dawn swoop on his home, he was questioned about both claimed terrorism and corruption.

If at any point he is arrested in relation to the terrorism investigation, the government would move to appoint a trustee to head the Istanbul municipality. However, since Imamoglu, has only been arrested as part of the corruption prosecution, the city hall parliament was able to elect a main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) member to replace Imamoglu.

Beylikduzu graft claims

Another Imamoglu court case concerns alleged corruption said to have taken place during his term as the mayor of Beylikduzu between 2014 and 2019. The Buyukcekmece 10th (Asliye Ceza) Penal Court of First Instance has set a next hearing date of October 24. The last hearing was held on July 11.

All of these hearings are also held at Silivri Prison, located in Istanbul district Buyukcekmece.

CHP trials

Imamoglu is, meanwhile, among the suspects in two separate court cases that target the CHP headquarters. The finance industry has shown an interest in the case conducted by the Ankara 42nd (Asliye Hukuk) Civil Court of First Instance.

Circle September 15

At the last Asliye Hukuk hearing held on June 30, the court appointed a next hearing date of September 8. This was then shifted to September 15. If the finance industry shows the interest that it showed at the June 30 hearing, the September 15 date will most likely stand.

The court will decide whether the CHP’s 38th party congress in 2023, which saw Ozgur Ozel take over the party leadership from Kemal Kilicdaroglu, was valid.

Bribery case is one hot potato

Separately, prosecutors filed a criminal case at the Ankara 28th (Asliye Ceza) Penal Court of First Instance targeting CHP officials, including Imamoglu, for bribing party delegates at the congress leadership election.

The Ankara 28th Penal Court does not want to hold this trial. It sent the case to the Ankara 3rd (Agir Ceza) Heavy Penal Court in June. Then, the Ankara 3rd Heavy Penal Court sent it back to the Ankara 28th Penal Court.

The 28th Penal Court then applied to the Ankara Regional Courts of Appeal over the disagreement with the 3rd Heavy Penal Court. The Ankara Regional Courts decided that the 28th Penal Court should indeed hold the case.

On July 11, the 28th Penal Court applied to Penal Department Number 5 at the Supreme Court. The decision of the Supreme Court is awaited.

Lost dignity

Those who are in no doubt that the Erdogan regime is up to no good are wont to say that all the cases are in fact hot potatoes. They are from this viewpoint entirely unlawful. In the event of regime change, any judge who has presided over one of the cases could end up in jail. If there is no regime change, the judges will still lose their dignity in their daily lives, the critics note.

Turkey’s regime generally uses Gulenists to conduct such cases. Given the massive purge of Gulenists since the 2016 attempted coup events, they are in any case supposed to be in jail. It’s not hard to see why they do whatever is ordered.

To those heartily sick of the Erdogan years, Akin Gurlek is seen as among the regime’s jokers in the judicial business. He has served everywhere, from heavy penal courts to the justice ministry.

17 CHP mayors in jail

CHP municipalities are being targeted via the Imamoglu corruption and terrorism investigations and a range of prosecutions, including Buyukcekme, Antalya and Izmir prosecutions.

As things stand,17 CHP mayors, including two mayors from Buyukcekmece, are in jail and the mayor of Adiyaman is under house arrest.

Four CHP municipalities, namely Esenyurt (Istanbul district), Ovacik (Tunceli town), Sisli (Istanbul district) and Gaziosmanpasa (Istanbul district), have so far been seized by the government.

Three were seized directly on terrorism charges while the regime holds the majority in the Gaziosmanpasa parliament.

In six municipalities, the district parliament has elected a CHP member as the new mayor to replace the jailed mayor. The six are Istanbul (Istanbul province), Besiktas (Istanbul district), Avcilar (Istanbul district), Buyukcekmece (Istanbul district), Antalya (Antalya province) and Manavgat (Antalya district)).

After the detention of the second mayor, in Buyukcekmece, the district parliament elected another CHP member as mayor.

The remaining seven (Beykoz (Istanbul district), Beylikduzu (Istanbul district), Sile (Istanbul district), Ceyhan (Adana district), Seyhan (Adana district), Adana (province) and Adiyaman (province)) are currently in limbo.

Additionally, the ex-mayor of Izmir, Tunc Soyer, and Senol Aslanoglu, the incumbent head of CHP Izmir, have been jailed pending trial.

Prior to the jailing of Imamoglu, who remains the CHP’s presidential candidate, in March, Turkey’s judiciary was targeting pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s municipalities.

In February, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) started a collaboration with the ruling coalition and operations against Kurdish municipalities stopped.

There’s more

There are also more court cases targeting the CHP. Dozens of cases also target CHP officials.

Twenty one people are accused of calling for a boycott of Erdogan-aligned businesses after Imamoglu was jailed. On July 8, local TV channel Sozcu was ordered into a 10-day blackout.

Even Imamoglu’s lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan is in prison. He is resident in Silivri like his client.

73 apply to turn state witness

As of July 16, in the Istanbul municipality prosecution centred on Imamoglu, 303 of 312 suspects had been detained. Nine were still being sought, according to an infographic published by the government-run news service Anadolu Agency.

Ninety seven of the 303 detainees have been jailed pending trial. The remaining 206 have been released on bail.

Seventy three detainees have applied to turn state witness. Forty one of them are among the 97 people jailed pending trial.

Thirty nine of the 41 who have turned state witness have been released.