“This case is not legal, it is entirely political. Its purpose is to stop the CHP, which came first in the last [local] elections, and to block its presidential candidate,” Ozgur Ozel wrote on X.
The indictment was filed today, with a court date to be set later.
The mayor of Turkey’s largest and richest city until his arrest, Imamoglu is facing a slew of allegations - including espionage and faking his university degree - which could see him banned from running in the 2028 presidential race.
According to the indictment, which names 402 suspects, Imamoglu allegedly headed a sprawling crime network over which he exerted his influence “like an octopus”.
‘Electoral fraudster?’
Before the indictment was published, Ozel had denounced the scope of the allegations.
“Can someone be both an electoral fraudster, hold a forged decree, and be a thief, a terrorist, and a spy all at the same time?” he asked.
“If you accused an innocent person of just one of these crimes, it would be a great injustice. But when you put all of them on one person, it’s a major crime ... But his only crime is running for the presidency of this country!”
Prosecutors also said they had filed papers with Turkey’s top appeals court against the CHP in what observers said could pave the way for the party’s closure.
In a separate statement, the prosecutor’s office confirmed it had informed the court about certain irregularities but denied reports it was seeking to have the party shut down.
The CHP has been under increasing pressure since it won control of Turkey’s largest cities during local elections in March 2024.
Since then, 16 of its mayors have been jailed.
In October, an Ankara court dismissed a case challenging the legitimacy of the outcome of the party’s 2023 leadership primary, saying there was no legal basis to remove the current leadership from office.
The move could have unseated Ozel, who is himself facing a number of lawsuits, including one for insulting the president.
-Agence France-Presse
