Court drops İmamoğlu case over alleged insult to AKP official

ISTANBUL

A court on March 5 dismissed a case against jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu over accusations that he insulted a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) official, after a fine was paid through a legal prepayment procedure.

The case stemmed from remarks İmamoğlu made in October 2024 during a fair in Istanbul, where he accused Serkan Şahin, a municipal council member in the Beykoz district, of "engaging in dirty politics."

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of up to two years and four months in prison for İmamoğlu and requested a political ban.

During the first hearing on Feb. 27, İmamoğlu’s lawyer Kemal Polat argued that his client’s remarks did not constitute a crime but said the required prepayment had already been made, requesting that the case be dismissed. The court agreed with the request at the second hearing.

İmamoğlu currently faces several other investigations, including probes over the alleged forgery of his university diploma and remarks directed at an expert witness. He is also in jail pending trial in a separate corruption investigation.

He was arrested on March 23; the day he was named the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for next elections.

Since his arrest, the CHP has been holding rallies across Türkiye twice a week calling for early polls, although the country’s next vote is not scheduled until 2028.