Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said the prison sentence handed down to him this week is a punishment for his success, as opposition parties will hold a rally in support of him and in challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of next year's elections.
A Turkish court yesterday, Wednesday, sentenced Imamoglu to 2 years and 7 months in prison and imposed a ban on political activity. Both sentences will have to be upheld by an appeals court. His conviction drew widespread criticism at home and abroad, with critics saying it constituted a breach of democracy.
Imamoglu, who is seen as a potential strong rival to Erdogan, called on residents of Turkey's largest city to show unity and solidarity by joining his voice and that of the leaders of six opposition parties at the municipality's headquarters at 4 p.m:00 pm (15:00 local time).
Sometimes in our country, no success goes unpunished, he noted. I consider this meaningless and illegal punishment imposed on me a reward for my success, he stressed.
Imamoglu was convicted of insulting public officials in a speech after his victory in the 2019 Istanbul municipal elections. Critics say that Turkish courts are bending to Erdogan's will. The government says the judiciary is independent.
Erdogan's big challenge
The presidential and parliamentary elections due to be held by June are expected to be Erdogan's biggest political challenge to date after two decades in power, as Turks struggle to cope with the rising cost of living following the collapse of the Turkish lira and soaring inflation.
The coalition of six opposition parties formed against Erdogan, led by the People's Republican Party (CHP) to which Imamoglu belongs, has not yet decided who will be its candidate in the presidential election. Imamoglu is considered a likely candidate and polls have shown that he would beat Erdogan.
Imamoglu was put on trial for a speech in which he said that those who cancelled the initial vote for the 2019 Istanbul municipality, in which he narrowly defeated Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate, were idiots. Imamoglu says his comment was in response to Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu who had used the same language against him.
After the results of the first vote in Istanbul's municipal elections were annulled, Imamoglu won comfortably in the run-off vote that was held, ending 25 years of rule of Turkey's largest city by the AKP and its Islamist predecessors.
Source: APM
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