Indictment against Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu accepted, trial set for June 12

An indictment seeking up to four years in prison and a political ban for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in the “Expert Witness” case has been accepted. Imamoglu is set to appear in court on June 12.

Expert witness case

The case stems from Imamoglu’s remarks at a press conference in Sarachane, where he accused expert witness S.B. of bias in cases involving him and other opposition-led municipalities.

He claimed that S.B. fabricated findings in reports related to an investigation from his tenure as Beylikduzu mayor and systematically targeted opposition-run municipalities.

Following his comments, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office swiftly launched an investigation.

In his testimony, Imamoglu defended his statements, arguing that criticizing an expert witness was not a crime but a necessity for transparency and justice.

The indictment accuses Imamoglu of attempting to influence a judicial official and seeks a sentence of two to four years in prison, along with a political ban. S.B., in his statement, denied any wrongdoing and said he had worked on cases involving various political parties.