Eight prominent defendants in the Istanbul Municipality trial, including the jailed opposition mayor's lawyer, have been released pending the verdict and have called for the release of dozens of others still behind bars. Istanbul Municipality headquarters, March 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN.
Eight defendants in the Istanbul Municipality trial walked free on Friday after a court ordered their release late on Thursday despite prosecutors demanding that all detained defendants remain behind bars.
Those freed included Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, and Fatos Pinar Turker, manager of Istanbul Municipality’s media company. The decision brought relief in opposition circles, although Imamoglu and other defendants remain in prison.
“I am happy, of course, but also saddened. My brother and my friends are in prison. I want them to regain their freedom soon,” Pehlivan said on Friday after leaving prison.
Turker also focused on those who remained detained: “My only wish is to reunite with my daughters. My thoughts are with the other friends who remain imprisoned,” he said.
Mayor Imamoglu, who is also the main opposition presidential candidate for the next election, is one of the 46 defendants still in custody after the eight were released. A total of 436 people have been indicted in the case, accused of involvement in corruption. They insist that the charges are politically motivated and false.
During the latest hearing, Imamoglu again denied the prosecution’s claims and criticised its reliance on secret witnesses.
“This pile of rubbish built on a secret witness has collapsed. There is not a single tangible witness,” Imamoglu told the court, demanding his release.
Defence lawyers and opposition figures have challenged the use of secret witnesses in the case and demanded the release of those being held, pending trial.
Over the last few years, dozens of opposition mayors and hundreds of party members have been arrested on corruption and terror charges.
Imamoglu was arrested on March 19, 2025. The prosecutor’s office is demanding a 2,352-year prison sentence for him. Imamoglu denies all the accusations.
Opposition politicians, rights groups and international organisations have said the government is using the judiciary to crush its political rivals in what they call an unprecedented crackdown.