Turkey: Istanbul mayor Imamoglu hit with jail term

The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, was on Wednesday handed a prison sentence for insulting a prosecutor, according to Turkish state media.

Imamoglu, the main political rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been in jail pending trial since March on separate corruption charges.

He has now been sentenced to a year and eight months in prison for insulting and threatening Istanbul's chief prosecutor.

Under Turkish law, prison terms of this length do not typically result in incarceration, but Imamoglu remains in pre-trial detention on other charges.

Why has Imamoglu been handed another prison term?

The case stems from remarks Imamoglu made after a raid on the home of a youth leader from his opposition republican people's party (CHP), when he said Istanbul's chief prosecutor, Akin Gürlek, had a "rotten" mind.

Imamoglu denies the charges against him and told broadcaster Halk TV and other Turkish media: "I've been fighting against the abuse of the judiciary and against its use as a political tool. This is indeed an insult against our nation."

It's not the first time that Imamoglu has been convicted of insulting public officials.

In 2022, he was sentenced to two years and six months in jail for criticizing election board officials over a decision to cancel the 2019 Istanbul elections in which he defeated the candidate from President Erdogan's ruling justice and development party (AKP).

He has appealed that sentence but it has not yet been reviewed. If upheld, the conviction could prevent Imamoglu from participating in future elections.

In March, Istanbul University annulled Imamoglu's university diploma, without which he cannot stand as a candidate for president.

Since his arrest on March 19, Turkish opposition figures have come under increasing pressure, with dozens of CHP mayors dismissed or detained on allegations of corruption.

The CHP denies corruption allegations and calls them a government attempt to remove electoral threats against Erdogan, a charge the government rejects.