The Istanbul Prosecutor's Office has proposed a sentence of 8 years and 9 months in prison and a ban on political activity for Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in connection with the alleged forged diploma case.
Following a complex judicial investigation, based largely on the testimonies of secret informants, the indictment was published today by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office in the case of Ekrem Imamoglu's alleged forged diploma, which he obtained 31 years ago.
Last March, Imamoglu was dismissed from his duties as Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and on March 19 was sent to prison in Silibria, outside Istanbul. Two days earlier, he reached 100 days in prison, a date that became the occasion for a large protest outside Istanbul Municipality, where the leader of the main opposition party, Özgür Özel, in a particularly harsh speech, called the Turkish president a "junta leader".
Imamoglu's long detention had sparked protests, as well as fears that the sentences he would face would lead to his exclusion from politics. The indictment published today confirms these fears.
The text from the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office states that "Ekrem Imamoglu obtained his diploma through fraud and participated in the crime of serial forgery."
The indictment was sent to the First Instance Criminal Court. In response to the decision, Imamoglu's lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, who is in custody, filed a lawsuit with the 5th Administrative Court requesting a "suspension of execution."
The dean of the School of Business Administration at Istanbul University, who had stated that there were “no irregularities” regarding Imamoglu’s degree, resigned from his position due to “health problems.”
The Imamoglu case will revive the sense of injustice felt by a large part of the former mayor’s supporters, while Turkish analysts predict that the Turkish judiciary may now turn its attention to opposition leader Özgür Özel for disrespecting the Turkish president. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
