Istanbul court postpones fake diploma trial against İmamoğlu

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court on Dec. 8 postponed to Feb. 16 next year the high-profile trial accusing Istanbul’s jailed mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of using a fake university diploma, after he appeared before a judge for the third time.

The hearing, initially scheduled at Istanbul’s main courthouse, was moved to the high-security Marmara Prison complex in Silivri due to limited courtroom capacity.

The session drew officials from İmamoğlu’s Republican People's Party (CHP) and his family.

İmamoğlu, who faces two years and six months to eight years and nine months in prison on charges of “forgery of official documents in a chain of acts,” delivered an extensive defense following the appointment of a new judge.

In his remarks, he criticized the frequent replacement of judges in cases involving him.

“Justice cannot be subordinate to politics,” he said, adding that reshuffling judges and prosecutors “cannot alter the truth.”

He insisted that all documents related to his university education were genuine.

“My diploma is as legitimate and lawful as it gets. I have never forged any document,” he said. “I applied to a public university through an official announcement and earned my place fairly.”

Prosecutors reiterated their previous opinion and asked the court to wait for the outcome of a separate administrative lawsuit regarding the cancellation of İmamoğlu’s diploma.

İmamoğlu currently faces several ongoing investigations in addition to the alleged forgery of his university diploma, including those over the corruption allegations and insulting an expert witness as well as other offenses.