İmamoğlu ejected from hearing as court releases 6 defendants

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was removed from the courtroom during a heated hearing on July 8 in the corruption trial, while Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney was among six defendants ordered released pending trial.

İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was expelled from the hearing after the presiding judge accused him of disrupting courtroom order and discipline, media reported.

The mayor has been in custody since March 2025 and has been appearing before a specially designated prison courtroom alongside 414 co-defendants, 59 of whom were in detention before the latest rulings.

Hundreds of party members and elected officials have been detained over the past two years in a crackdown critics say is designed to cripple Türkiye’s largest opposition group. The government denies accusations, maintaining that the country’s judicial system is independent and free of political interference.

Following the release of six suspects, including Güney, the number of jailed defendants fell to 53.

İmamoğlu was also removed from the courtroom during the previous hearing after a tense exchange with the judge over the order and scheduling of defense statements.

“I did not come here to be questioned. I came to express my demands,” İmamoğlu said before the judge ordered his removal.

An investigation was launched over these remarks on allegations of threatening a public official.

The court also ordered the release of the suspended Beyoğlu mayor, who was arrested on Aug. 19, 2025, as part of the corruption investigation and later suspended from office. Prosecutors are seeking up to 35 years in prison for Güney.

The panel scheduled the next detention review for Aug. 6 and adjourned the trial until Aug. 17.

Attending the hearing, CHP’s ousted leader Özgür Özel described the proceedings as “a sham.”

“Nothing about this case is acceptable; even the worst courts at least try to pretend to be courts, but here they don’t even bother with that,” he told reporters.

In a statement posted on X, İmamoğlu condemned what he described as “a very serious violation of my rights and the height of injustice.”