Court frees 18 in Istanbul corruption trial

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court has announced its first release decisions in the corruption trial in which Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is being prosecuted, ordering the release of 18 defendants.

İmamoğlu and several opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayors have been jailed pending trial since March 2025 as part of a sweeping corruption probe targeting CHP-run municipalities. Prosecutors are seeking more than 2,000 years in prison for İmamoğlu.

During hearings that began roughly a month ago, the panel of judges unanimously ruled late on April 2 to release 18 defendants.

Those freed include several senior municipal officials, among them the municipality’s chief of staff. The court imposed travel bans on all individuals granted release.

The first hearing in the case, which involves more than 400 defendants, is expected to continue until the end of April.

Following the interim ruling, the court will resume proceedings on April 6 to hear statements from defendants who have not yet presented their defense.

After the decision, İmamoğlu was reported to have embraced those set to be released, sending them off with the words, “The struggle continues.” Although the ruling was delivered around midnight, the releases were not completed until the morning hours. The first person freed was Sırrı Küçük, the driver of CHP Deputy Chair Özgür Karabat.

The CHP has argued that the wave of detentions lasting more than a year is politically motivated.

In the latest crackdown, an operation on March 31 resulted in the detention of Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey on charges of bribery in the northwestern province.

Bozbey faces allegations of “money laundering stemming from criminal activity” and “establishing or being a member of an organization” related to his tenure as mayor of Bursa’s Nilüfer district from 1999 to 2019.