A Turkish court on Oct. 12 acquitted 44 people who faced legal proceedings over protests that erupted following the March 2025 arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The ruling came in the case, which was brought against young protesters who took to the streets after İmamoğlu was detained on March 19, 2025, as part of a corruption investigation involving the Istanbul Municipality.
The court acquitted 44 of the 45 defendants standing trial over the demonstrations in Saraçhane, the area outside Istanbul City Hall that became a focal point of the protests.
The remaining defendant was sentenced to seven months and 15 days in prison on charges of inciting the commission of a crime over a social media post.
The court, however, ruled to defer the announcement of the verdict, a measure under Turkish law that can allow a conviction to be annulled if the defendant meets certain conditions during a specified period.
Mass demonstrations broke out across Türkiye following İmamoğlu’s arrest on corruption allegations last year, with hundreds of people detained in connection with the protests.
İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure, went on trial on March 9, nearly a year after his imprisonment. The proceedings remain ongoing, and no final verdict has yet been delivered in his case.
