İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has filed criminal complaints against 14 people, including pro-government journalists, accusing them of spreading misleading information about him and insulting him, the Euronews Turkish edition reported on Friday, citing his office.
Among those named in the complaint are Hürriyet columnist Nedim Şener, Sabah columnist Kenan Kıran and Yeni Şafak reporter Burak Doğan, who are known for their support to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure who is seen as the strongest political rival of Erdoğan, claims that the 14 people have been engaged in “publicly disseminating misleading information and insult,” crimes under the Turkish Penal Code.
Murat Ongun, an advisor to İmamoğlu, announced the legal action on X on Friday, saying, “We had previously said we would exercise our legal rights against those who deliberately mislead the public. We have taken action, and we will continue to do so. Justice will prevail sooner or later.”
İmamoğlu filed the complaints against the 14 due to their claims about his university degree, with some pro-government media outlets and journalists falsely claiming that prosecutors had requested the cancellation of his degree.
The mayor is under investigation due to allegations that he falsely obtained his university degree from İstanbul University.
The investigation into İmamoğlu, who is already facing multiple legal proceedings, began just a day after he submitted his candidacy for the presidency under the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in a statement this week denied media reports claiming that it had requested the cancellation of İmamoğlu’s university degree, saying that it only requested documents from İstanbul University as part of its ongoing investigation.
Under Turkey’s constitution, presidential candidates must have a degree in higher education. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has faced similar claims from opponents, which he has denied.
The university degree controversy emerged as part of a broader political battle surrounding İmamoğlu, who first took over the administration of Turkey’s largest city from Erdoğan’s ruling AKP in 2019 and was re-elected last year. He is currently the subject of five other investigations, two of which were launched last month.
Regularly targeted by Erdoğan, who also served as İstanbul mayor, İmamoğlu was sentenced in December 2022 to nearly three years in prison and a political ban for “insulting” members of Turkey’s High Electoral Board. He has appealed the ruling.
A vocal critic of Erdoğan, İmamoğlu last month denounced what he called judicial “harassment” after being questioned by an İstanbul court in another investigation related to his criticism of the city’s public prosecutor.