İmamoğlu faces new lawsuit after Interior Ministry’s report

Duvar English

Following a report filed by the Interior Ministry, the Büyükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has penned an indictment about seven people, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

The indictment accuses the seven defendants of “using fraud in tender” during İmamoğlu’s reign as the Beylikdüzü mayor. The defendants will appear before the Büyükçekmece Penal Court of First Instance on June 15.

Although İmamoğlu’s lawyer said that the politician was not involved in any process of the relevant tender, did not have any instructions or his signature on any of the signed papers, the indictment still listed him as one of the seven people who allegedly caused a public loss of 250,000 liras.

The prosecutors have demanded from three to seven years in prison for each of the defendants in the case.

The prosecutors have also demanded the application of the Turkish Penal Code’s 53rd Article, also known as “political ban,” for each of the defendants. If a person is sentenced under this article, they are deprived of "exercising certain rights," including "undertaking employment as, or in the service of, an appointed or elected public official."

İmamoğlu’s advisor Murat Ongun said that the lawsuit attempts to “design politics” and people "will not allow for it."

Last year, İmamoğlu was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison and given a political ban. The Istanbul mayor was accused of "insulting" members of Turkey's election board during a speech in November 2019. The case is now at the Court of Cassation, the highest court for appeal. If the ruling is upheld, İmamoğlu would be removed from office and banned from politics.