SILIVRI, Türkiye: Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor said Friday that he was “not afraid” as he denounced the legal case against him as part of a broader campaign of “judicial harassment,” accusing the government of weaponizing the judiciary to silence dissent.
Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared in court on charges of allegedly seeking to influence a fair trial, one of several cases brought against him.
Prosecutors called for Imamoglu to face up to four years behind bars in that particular case and be subjected to a political ban.
Speaking from a courtroom in Silivri on the western outskirts of Istanbul, where Imamoglu has been held since March, he dismissed the charges as politically motivated and described the case against him as driven by fear at the highest levels of power.
“This is called ‘Ekrem fear’,” he said, addressing the judge directly. “People love me — but one person, clearly, is afraid,” he added, in a reference to Erdogan.
