Turkey State Prosecutors Want to Jail Popular Istanbul mayor and Erdogan Critic Imamoglu

A Turkish court resumed the trial of Istanbul’s mayor Friday on charges of insulting members of Turkiye’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case critics allege is an attempt to remove a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the political scene.

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of the opposition Republican People’s Party, faces up to four years in prison if found guilty of the charge and could also be barred from holding office. The court in Istanbul might deliver its verdict on Friday.

Imamoglu was elected to lead Turkiye’s largest city in March 2019. His win was a historic blow to Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. The party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.

Prosecutors on Friday demanded Imamoglu be jailed for between 15 months and four years and a month, his lawyer Kemal Polat said.