A court on Nov. 12 ordered the release of eight defendants in the corruption case targeting Istanbul’s opposition-run municipality, including jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan.
The court launched the third round of hearings in the case on Nov. 2 at a courtroom inside the sprawling prison complex in Istanbul’s Silivri district, where judges heard testimony from 60 witnesses, complainants, and anonymous witnesses.
The decision to release the defendants came as the third round of hearings drew to a close. Alongside Pehlivan, several senior executives from municipal subsidiaries overseeing media and cultural affairs were among those ordered freed.
During the hearings, the court also requested the presence of four anonymous witnesses identified by the code names “İlke,” “Zeytin,” “Martı” and “Gürgen.”
Two of them, “Gürgen” and “Zeytin,” testified at the Nov. 4 hearing, while the other two were not brought before the court.
When questioned by the presiding judge and defendants about allegations of bribery, “Gürgen” said: “I have not witnessed anything myself, but this is what people have been saying.”
Asked how he had obtained the information, the witness replied that he had “learned about it from somewhere.”
“Zeytin,” meanwhile, said he had no direct knowledge of the allegations concerning zoning and tender processes. He also told the court that he did not personally know the individuals whose names appeared in his testimony.
Main opposition New Party leader Özgür Özel stated in December 2025 that the secret witness code-named “İlke” had formally retracted all prior statements and relinquished protected-witness status shortly after testifying.
The fourth hearing session is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2027.
İmamoğlu, a prominent figure in the New Party, has been behind bars for more than a year over corruption allegations.
His detention has been accompanied by a broader crackdown on opposition-run municipalities, with numerous opposition mayors and senior municipal officials also taken into custody over the past year and a half.
