14.10.2026 13:30
Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been in prison for approximately 19 months, began his defense on the 98th day of the İBB case, which is expected to last 4 days. During identity verification, İmamoğlu stated that his monthly income was between 250 and 300 thousand liras and said that he had no criminal record.
The 98th day of the İBB trial, with 436 defendants, 53 of whom are detained, including suspended Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, began.
On the 98th day of the İBB trial being heard by the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court at the Marmara Closed Prison campus in Silivri, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been in prison since March 19, 2025, is making his defense. İmamoğlu’s and his lawyers’ defense is expected to last 4 days.
Some detained defendants attended the hearing, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, suspended from his post as Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), Mehmet Murat Çalık, suspended from his post as Mayor of Beylikdüzü, and Murat Ongun, Chairman of the Board of Media AŞ.
In the hearing, where some non-detained defendants and their lawyers were also present, relatives of the defendants were present as spectators.
New Party Chairman Özgür Özel, some New Party members of parliament, Ekrem İmamoğlu’s mother Havva İmamoğlu, father Hasan İmamoğlu, wife Dilek İmamoğlu, son Selim İmamoğlu, as well as party members and spectators, were also present in the courtroom.
HERE IS THE MONTHLY INCOME DECLARATION
Detained defendant Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was given the floor to make his defense, said during identity verification that he was a master’s degree graduate, had served as Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and that his monthly income was 250-300 thousand liras.
When asked whether he had a criminal record, İmamoğlu replied, “No, thank God.”
İmamoğlu said, “In the meantime, I do not find it right that I appear on screen in this way. If you deem it appropriate. After all, people are looking from 100 meters away. Truly, with its architecture, this is not a courtroom. I think it is not right for the law and the court to be designed in this way, for the judicial bench that all of us will lean on. Being in such an environment is saddening. I am here with these feelings. I came here from the prison in Silivri.”
İmamoğlu, who said he greeted all humanity in the name of democracy and justice, conveyed that his companions and friends were in the hall.
The hearing continues with İmamoğlu’s defense.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Civil Service Inspection Board Presidency is included as the “notifier”; the Ministries of Treasury and Finance, Interior, Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Forestry, as well as the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the İBB Mayoralty, and the Şişli Municipality Mayoralty are included as “injured parties to the crime.”
In the indictment, there are 16 people as “complainants,” and a total of 407 people as “defendants,” 7 of whom are fugitives and 5 of whom are “complainant-defendants.”
The indictment, which describes the activities of the criminal organization from its establishment in 2014 to the present, includes an assessment that “the benefit obtained and the public damage caused in relation to the 143 acts subject to the indictment, as of the crime dates (excluding current value), total approximately 160 billion liras and 24 million dollars in movable assets, and in terms of immovable assets consist of 95 real properties in Istanbul and across the country (excluding the assets obtained by the organization’s ringleader and managers from crime proceeds).”
In the organization chart in the indictment, it is stated that defendant Ekrem İmamoğlu is the “organization’s ringleader,” and defendants Murat Ongun, Fatih Keleş, Adem Soytekin, Ertan Yıldız, Hüseyin Gün, and fugitive defendant Murat Gülibrahimoğlu are also “organization managers.”
In the chart, it is conveyed that 10 organization members are directly affiliated with Ekrem İmamoğlu, and it shows that of the organization members, 77 are affiliated with Fatih Keleş, 35 with Murat Ongun, 8 with Ertan Yıldız, 7 with Hüseyin Gün, 6 with Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, and 6 with Adem Soytekin.
In the indictment, it is requested that Ekrem İmamoğlu be punished with imprisonment from a total of 849 years to 2,430 years and 6 months for the crimes of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,” “recording personal data,” “obtaining and disseminating personal data,” “concealing evidence of crime,” “obstruction of communication,” “damaging public property,” “bribery,” “publicly disseminating misleading information to the public,” “extortion,” “fraud against public institutions and organizations,” “money laundering of assets derived from crime,” “rigging a tender,” “intentional pollution of the environment,” “violation of the Tax Procedure Law,” “violation of the Forest Law,” and “violation of the Mining Law.”
In the indictment, Keleş is requested to be punished with imprisonment from 556 years 8 months to 1,542 years 8 months for the crimes of “bribery,” “taking bribes,” and “giving bribes” 48 times, “rigging a tender” 55 times, “fraud against public institutions and organizations” 39 times, and “money laundering of crime proceeds,” “violation of the Mining Law,” “violation of the Forest Law,” “causing environmental pollution,” “violation of the Tax Procedure Law,” “extortion,” “destroying, concealing or altering evidence of crime,” and “obstruction of communication” 8 times.
In the indictment, which requests that Ongun be sentenced to imprisonment from 287 years 6 months to 779 years 6 months for the crimes of “bribery” and “rigging a tender” 53 times, “fraud against public institutions and organizations” 33 times, “giving, disseminating or obtaining personal data to others,” “publicly disseminating misleading information to the public,” and “money laundering of crime proceeds,” it is foreseen that Yıldız be punished with imprisonment from 86 years to 251 years for the crimes of “bribery,” “rigging a tender,” and “fraud against public institutions and organizations.”
In the indictment, while it is requested that Soytekin be punished with imprisonment from 67 years to 194 years for the crimes of “bribery,” “continuous bribery,” “extortion,” and “money laundering of crime proceeds,” it is requested that Gülibrahimoğlu be punished with imprisonment from 19 years 6 months to 51 years for the crimes of “fraud against public institutions and organizations,” “money laundering of crime proceeds,” “forgery of documents,” “violation of the Mining Law,” “violation of the Forest Law,” “causing environmental pollution,” and “violation of the Tax Procedure Law.”
In the indictment, in which imprisonment from 20 years to 40 years is requested for Gün for the crimes of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes” and “giving, disseminating or obtaining personal data to others,” it is stated that a decision should be made that these defendants, who are in the position of organization managers, should also be punished as perpetrators for all crimes committed within the scope of the activities of the organization’s structures affiliated with them.
In the indictment, it is requested that the provisions on “effective remorse” be applied to organization manager defendants Adem Soytekin, Hüseyin Gün, and Ertan Yıldız, who provided information about the crimes committed within the framework of the organization’s structure and activities after being caught.
In the indictment, which includes a request for a prison sentence totaling from 35 years to 91 years for Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, who was suspended from his post after his arrest, for the crimes of “taking bribes” 5 times, “extortion” 2 times, “unlawfully recording personal data,” “unlawfully giving or obtaining personal data,” and “membership in an organization established for the purpose of committing crimes,” it is requested that Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, who was suspended from his post after his arrest, be punished with a total of 30 years to 88 years in prison for the crimes of “taking bribes” 7 times and “membership in an organization established for the purpose of committing crimes.”
FIRST JOINED CASE FILE
The indictment prepared against 7 defendants, including İnan Güney, who was removed from his post as Mayor of Beyoğlu, was also joined to this case.
In the indictment, the defendants İnan Güney, İsmail Akkaya, Seyhan Özcan, Veysel Eren Güven, Sabriye Akkaya, Mehmet Akif Bulut and Deniz Göleli are requested to be punished with imprisonment from 9 years 8 months to 31 years 8 months for the crimes of "aiding an organization established for the purpose of committing a crime without being a member" and "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations."
SECOND CASE FILE
The investigation conducted on the allegation that tenders were rigged by unlawfully operating a fictitious tender system through Ağaç ve Peyzaj AŞ was completed, and the indictment prepared against 29 defendants was also joined to this case.
The defendants Ekrem İmamoğlu, Fatih Keleş and Ali Sukas are requested to be punished with imprisonment from 62 years to 168 years each for the crimes of "rigging a tender," "forgery of official documents," "taking and giving bribes" and "mediation in bribery," while the other 26 defendants are requested to be sentenced to imprisonment for the same crimes for periods ranging from 3 years to 168 years.
During the trial process, with the release of 63 people together with the joined case files, there are 53 detained defendants in the case.
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