The prosecution sought a prison sentence for the politician ranging from three to seven years; however, attorney Nusret Yılmaz pointed out during the hearing on Friday that the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence for a conviction throughout all five hearings. As a result, the court ruled that there was no criminal offense and acquitted all the defendants.
Nevertheless, on the same day, in the morning, the Istanbul public prosecutor's office opened a new criminal case against İmamoğlu concerning suspicions of espionage related to the 2019 mayoral elections, during which at least 15 people were detained.
Earlier, in March, at the request of the prosecutor's office, Istanbul University revoked İmamoğlu's diploma along with those of 27 others, jeopardizing his ability to participate in the presidential elections. The prosecution is seeking nearly nine years in prison for him and a ban on political activity in the diploma forgery case.
İmamoğlu was elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019 and successfully re-elected in 2024 with a margin of almost 12 percentage points over his opponent from the ruling party. Since March 23, he has been in custody at Silivri prison in a corruption case. The request for arrest in the new terrorism charge case was rejected.
The politician already has two convictions: in July, he was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for threats against Attorney General Akın Gürlek and his family, and in December 2022, he received a sentence of two years and 7.5 months in prison for insulting members of the Electoral Commission, which led to a ban on political activity. The defense plans to file an appeal, and a final decision will be made after the case is reviewed by a higher court.
