İmamoğlu stands trial in espionage e case

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu appeared in court on Sept. 29 for the third trial of a case in which he is accused of political espionage, once again rejecting the allegations against him.

Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of between 15 and 20 years, along with political bans, for İmamoğlu, his campaign director Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ and businessman Hüseyin Gün.

İmamoğlu has been jailed since March 2025 over graft allegations linked to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The espionage case is one of several investigations against the mayor.

In his defense, İmamoğlu strongly rejected the espionage allegations, arguing that the case file contains no concrete evidence showing that he had carried out any act that endangered state security.

“What act have we committed against the security of the state? What proof is there? What evidence do you have?” İmamoğlu said.

İmamoğlu said the indictment portrays voter analysis, digital strategy and data-gathering activities carried out during election campaigns as acts posing a threat to national security, arguing that the espionage charges had been built around campaign activities conducted during the 2019 Istanbul mayoral elections.

“I am supposedly conducting voter analysis, devising digital strategies and collecting data, and apparently this is considered a threat to national security,” İmamoğlu said, objecting to the use of activities carried out during the 2019 election campaign as the basis for espionage charges.

İmamoğlu also raised the court’s correspondence with Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

He said the court had contacted MİT twice but claimed that no response had been received confirming any espionage activity.

İmamoğlu also challenged the court’s decisions to keep him in pretrial detention.