Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel on Wednesday denounced the last-minute relocation of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s upcoming trial to a high-security courthouse in Silivri, calling the move an attempt to sideline public scrutiny and intimidate dissent.
The trial, which stems from İmamoğlu’s criticism of a court-appointed expert, was set to begin Thursday. Originally scheduled to take place at the central İstanbul Courthouse in Şişli, the hearing was moved just 24 hours in advance to the courtroom inside the Marmara maximum-security prison complex west of the city.
Özel questioned the motive behind the last-minute decision, suggesting it reflected political fear on the part of the authorities.
“What is he afraid of? … If you’re afraid that the public might storm the courthouse, then you’re clearly doing something wrong,” he told reporters during a press briefing.
An indictment accepted by the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance seeks a prison sentence of up to four years and a political ban for İmamoğlu, in the case widely referred to by the Turkish media as the “expert witness trial.” The mayor is charged with “attempting to influence a judicial officer, expert or witness” after he publicly criticized expert witness Satılmış Büyükcanayakın at a press conference in January. He claimed Büyükcanayakın had been “cherry-picked” to draft biased reports against opposition-run municipalities to sway court proceedings amid increasing legal pressure on CHP politicians.
İmamoğlu, a senior figure in the CHP and the party’s candidate for the next presidential election, announced he would not attend the hearing, calling the trial’s sudden relocation unlawful.
“I do not accept these arbitrary practices that obstruct our right to a defense. Today’s hearing is unlawful and does not comply with the principles of a fair trial,” he said in a tweet before the hearing.
Aldığımız nefese dava açıyorsunuz. Her davanın savcısı aynı, bilirkişisi aynı, hukuksuzluğu aynı.
Bunlar da yetmiyor bir gün önce yargılamanın yapılacağı yeri değiştiriyor bana ve avukatlarıma son anda haber veriyorsunuz. Kendimizi savunmamızdan bile korkuyorsunuz. Savunma…
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) June 12, 2025
The first hearing, which neither İmamoğlu nor his lawyers attended, concluded with the court adjourning the trial until September 26.
This case is one of several legal battles facing İmamoğlu. He has frequently been targeted with legal action since ending the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) years-long rule in İstanbul in the 2019 local election.
In a separate case, İmamoğlu was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges criticized as politically motivated. His arrest is widely seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election.
The ongoing investigation has led to the detention of 47 city officials and opposition members, with 30 arrested in İstanbul and Adana, according to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Critics argue the crackdown aims to silence opposition ahead of a potential early presidential election.