Istanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison and barred from politics in a retrial over remarks alleged to have insulted a former local official. The ruling, delivered on September 11, adds a fresh legal blow to a figure already at the centre of Turkey’s most closely watched political drama, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
İmamoğlu, who remains in custody pending trial on separate corruption charges linked to the Istanbul municipality, appeared before the court for the latest hearing in the long-running insult case involving former Tuzla Mayor Şadi Yazıcı. Judges handed down a term of two years and one month, alongside a political ban that could end his mayoralty if it becomes final.
The case has a tangled history. Three years ago, İmamoğlu was tried on the same allegations and acquitted twice, only for an appeals court to overturn both verdicts on procedural grounds and order a retrial. Thursday’s decision marks the latest turn in a legal saga that has kept his political future in suspense.
Should the judgment stand after any appeal, the political ban would take effect, forcing Istanbul’s municipal council to elect a new mayor from among its members. For now, the ruling underscores the precarious position of a mayor whose fate continues to be shaped as much in courtrooms as on the campaign trail.
