Ekrem Imamoğlu
Political ban on Imamoglu: US accuses Turkey of “harassment”.
Ekrem Imamoglu, Mayor of Istanbul. photo
© Khalil Hamra/AP/dpa
Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu is considered a promising challenger to Erdogan – a court has now imposed a political ban on him. The US State Department finds clear words.
The United States has accused Turkey of “harassment” in connection with the court-ordered ban on politics for the Istanbul mayor. The US State Department said it was “deeply concerned and disappointed by the verdict” and “continued judicial harassment of representatives from civil society, the media, politics and business”.
Ekrem Imamoglu, politician from the country’s strongest opposition party, the CHP, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and a ban on politics. He insulted electoral officials by calling them “idiots,” the verdict said. Only when the verdict is final will Imamoglu have to resign as mayor of Istanbul.
The now 52-year-old had won the politically enormously influential office in 2019 and thus inflicted a bitter defeat on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamic conservative party AKP. Imamoglu was previously considered a promising Erdogan challenger for the presidential election next year. According to the Istanbul city administration, the public prosecutor’s office has already appealed against the verdict because the sentence is too low.
Critics called the case against Imamoglu “politically motivated”. The Turkish government in turn criticized this portrayal as a “lynching campaign” against Erdogan and the government.