24.02.2026 16:12
Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court rejected the request to merge the CHP convention criminal case with the IBB case. The trial will continue at the Ankara 26th Criminal Court of First Instance.
In relation to the allegations of irregularities during the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress, the court requested the case involving 12 defendants, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, to be merged with the İBB file during yesterday's hearing. The Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court rejected this request.
HEARING POSTPONED, MERGER REQUEST RECEIVED
The 3rd session of the congress case was held yesterday at the Ankara 26th Criminal Court of First Instance. Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik and the attorneys of the parties attended the hearing. After the defendants' defenses, the hearing of the case was postponed to April 1. The court requested the case to be merged with the İBB file at Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court.
"DIFFERENT CRIME QUALIFICATIONS"
The Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, which was the focus of attention, did not approve the request on the grounds that 'there is no factual and legal connection between the files and the crime qualifications are different.'
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
A lawsuit was filed following the investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the allegations related to the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress held in November 2023. The indictment claimed that during the CHP's 38th Ordinary Congress, where İmamoğlu was the chairperson, some delegates were given money, promises of candidacy and job offers were made, market cards were distributed, photographs of ballot papers were requested, the second round was delayed with misinformation, and through these means, the delegates' will was directed for Özgür Özel to win. It was requested that all defendants be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison for 'violating the Election Law.'