Istanbul mayor calls for "stronger struggle" after being convicted by court
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu was sentenced to 2 years 7 months and 15 days in prison for insulting the members of an election board in a hearing on Wednesday where the court ruling also banned him from politics, a decision which needs to be finalized by the supreme court to be implemented.
“A handful of people cannot take the authority given by the people, our struggle begins stronger, God willing,” Imamoglu said after the ruling.
A video posted on social media by the CHP’s Taylan Yildiz showed Good Party leader Meral Aksener hugging Imamoglu. “The spirits are high,” Yildiz said.
Ekrem başkanın yanındayız! 2 yıl 7 ay ceza nedir!!!
— Dr. Taylan Yıldız (@taylanyildiz) December 14, 2022
Hızlanan iktidar yürüyüşümüzün ilk günü bu olsun!
Hepimiz tek yüreğiz.
Ekrem başkanın morali ve motivasyonu çok iyi. Onu da söylemiş olayım. pic.twitter.com/QCdcEyhlEk
The last hearing of the case was held at the Anadolu Courthouse in Kartal district of Istanbul under extensive security measures.
Many deputies from the opposition bloc attended the hearing, in which the prosecutor demanded that Imamoglu be sentenced to 4 years and 1 month in prison.
The court board announced its decision in the evening, which also brought the mayor a political ban. But the ruling has to be finalized in the Supreme Court to be implemented.
CHP Leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu decided to interrupt his trip to Germany and return after the news of conviction.
"We will throw this darkness into the wastebasket so that it will never come again," he said in a video posted on Twitter..
“We will always be on the side of the rightful, on this road that we set out hand in hand,” Ankara mayor Mansur Yavas said on Twitter.
