
Turkish court convicts Istanbul mayor of insulting an official
The case, which predates his arrest, stems from comments he made on Jan. 20 in which he criticized Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, accusing him of targeting opposition figures through alleged politically motivated investigations. The court on Wednesday convicted Imamoglu of insulting and threatening Gurlek but acquitted him of the charge of publicly identifying him with the intent of making him a target. Imamoglu, regarded as the main challenger to Erdogan's more than two-decade-rule, has denied the accusations.
The mayor was arrested alongside other politicians from the main opposition party as part of investigations into alleged corruption. His arrest triggered the largest street protests in Turkey in more than a decade. Despite being behind bars, he was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. Elections are due to be held in 2028 but may come sooner. Since Imamoglu's arrest, dozens of officials from CHP-controlled municipalities have faced waves of arrests as part of investigations into alleged tender rigging and bribery. The arrests have drawn widespread criticism from opposition leaders who argue that the charges are politically motivated. Imamoglu himself has described the trial as 'punishment not justice' and accused the judiciary of acting under government pressure. Erdogan's government insists that the courts are impartial and free of political involvement.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Arab News
8 hours ago
- Arab News
Turkiye's Erdogan says Gazans must not die for ‘hunk of bread'
ISTANBUL: Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that it would be unacceptable for Palestinians to die from the want of a 'hunk of bread or a mouthful of water.' Erdogan's warning, made during a speech in Istanbul, came amid a mounting chorus of international criticism of Israel's campaign in Gaza, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis. 'No one endowed with a minimum of human dignity can accept this cruelty, in which dozens of innocent people die every day because they cannot find a hunk of bread or a mouthful of water,' he said. Erdogan is a frequent critic of Israel but his declaration came as Israel faced several demands from United Nations agencies and international capitals to protect civilian lives and to allow aid into Gaza. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Israeli forces 'must stop killing people' at food distribution points, and UN rights chief Volker Turk warned Israel that it was possibly violating international law. Gaza's civil defense agency said that Israeli strikes had killed 15 people in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, after the World Health Organization said that troops had invaded its staff residence.


Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Erdogan says Gazans must not die for ‘hunk of bread'
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday that it would be unacceptable for Palestinians to die from the want of a 'hunk of bread or a mouthful of water.' Erdogan's warning, made during a speech in Istanbul, comes amid a mounting chorus of international criticism of Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.


Asharq Al-Awsat
14 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Türkiye's Erdogan Says Syria's Sharaa Showed Strong Stance against Israel
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan praised his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa for showing a strong stance and not compromising in Syria's conflict with Israel, and said Sharaa took a "very positive" step by reaching an understanding with the Druze. Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Monday as part of a US-backed truce meant to end fighting that has killed hundreds of people, state media and witnesses said. In comments to Turkish media released on Monday, Erdogan said Syria's government had established some control in Sweida and the country's south with around 2,500 soldiers, with all but one Druze faction agreeing to respect the ceasefire during talks in Amman. He also told reporters on his flight returning from northern Cyprus that the United States now understood it needed to "own" the issue more, warning that the main issue was Israel using the fighting as an excuse to invade Syrian lands.