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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Turkish prosecutors have filed an indictment charging the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, and three others with "political espionage," opening a public case that could lead to up to 20 years in prison, according to the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office.
The indictment targets Imamoglu, his former campaign adviser Necati Ozkan, journalist Merdan Yanardag and businessman Huseyin Gun. Prosecutors are seeking sentences of 15 to 20 years in prison for each suspect, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The investigation, launched in October 2025, focuses on allegations that the personal data of millions of users of the "Istanbul Senin" (Istanbul is Yours) app was published abroad and offered for sale on the "Dark Web".
In a statement announcing the case, the prosecutor's office said the four people were accused of "political espionage" and that the indictment had been submitted to the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court for review.
Imamoglu, the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for the 2028 presidential election, has been held in Marmara Prison in Silivri for more than 10 months. He was arrested in March in a separate corruption investigation targeting the Istanbul Municipality and later dismissed from office.
The espionage investigation alleges that the data of 4.7 million users of the “İstanbul Senin” platform was transferred to foreign countries. Prosecutors have also filed charges involving another mobile platform linked to the municipality, alleging that the election-related data of millions of people was processed and leaked online.
The indictment covers an alleged criminal period between 2019 and 2025. Prosecutors have also accused Imamoglu of contact with Guni, who they allege has ties to Israel, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Gulen religious movement, allegations that have not been independently verified.
Turkey and its Western allies have declared the PKK a terrorist organization. Turkey also lists the Gülen movement as a terrorist group, although this designation is not internationally recognized.
Imamoglu appeared at Istanbul's Çağlayan Court on October 26 to give evidence in the espionage investigation, denying the charges as politically motivated.
"I have absolutely no knowledge or connection to intelligence agencies or their employees," he said at the time, calling the claims "absurd."
Yanardag, the editor-in-chief of opposition broadcaster Tele1, was arrested in the same investigation in late October. Turkish media reported that an administrator was later appointed to oversee the station, a move that opposition figures denounced as an attack on press freedom. Critics say the back-and-forth legal cases against Imamoglu are aimed at sidelining President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most prominent political rival ahead of upcoming national elections. The government denies political interference in the judiciary. The court will now decide whether to accept the indictment and proceed with the trial.
Another indictment filed in November against İmamoğlu accuses him of running a vast criminal network and committing 142 criminal offenses that could result in a sentence of up to 2,430 years in prison.
The nearly 4,000-page indictment accuses Imamoglu of criminal offenses including running a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and bid rigging.
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