An Istanbul court on April 30 ordered the release of 15 people on trial in a case of alleged corruption involving the city's Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been imprisoned for over a year and is not among the defendants being released.
He is accused of running a vast criminal network, faces 142 charges and, if convicted, risks 2,430 years in prison.
During the April 30 trial, the court ordered the release of 15 defendants under judicial control measures.
Those released included several Istanbul Municipality staff, İmamoğlu’s bodyguard and three businessmen, one of whom admitted to some of the accusations leveled by the prosecution, according to the local media reports.
Businessman Adem Soytekin gave contradictory testimony throughout the trial, saying he had received $500,000 while denying it constituted a bribe.
The presiding judge announced that the detention of the other arrested defendants will be reviewed again in three weeks.
Eighteen other defendants, including İmamoğlu’s chief of staff, had already been released in early April following an interim ruling, without the charges against them being dropped.
İmamoğlu has been on trial with 413 co-defendants since March 9. Seventy-seven of the accused remain in custody.
Since last year, authorities have launched a series of operations targeting several municipalities run by the CHP.
The CHP maintains that the arrest of İmamoğlu and the legal actions against its other mayors are politically motivated. The party has previously nominated İmamoğlu as its presidential candidate for the next elections.
