Former Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu will be the main defendant in a massive corruption trial starting on Monday that his opposition party and human rights groups say is politically motivated.
Imamoglu, 55, faces more than 140 charges, including corruption and running a criminal organization. Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of up to 2,430 years.
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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support ContributeHe and his party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), deny all charges. They accuse Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his allies of launching a political crackdown due to the president's declining popularity.
Before the trial, Imamoglu was widely seen as one of the few politicians who could defeat Erdogan in the election. Erdogan has been at the helm of Turkish politics since 2003.
Imamoglu struck a defiant tone before the trial, according to comments his legal team gave to the Reuters news agency last month, urging Erdogan to call immediate elections.
Another 407 Imamoglu supporters have been put on trial, accused of running a criminal corruption network led by an opposition figure, whom prosecutors describe as its "founder and leader".
The former mayor was arrested in March last year, on the same day he was announced as the leader of the CHP and its presidential candidate in the 2028 elections. Since then, he has been held in the Marmara prison complex, where his trial is expected to take place.
Meanwhile, his ban sparked the largest street protests in Turkey in more than a decade, which were followed by hundreds of arrests and a heavy-handed police crackdown.