İmamoğlu stands trial in first hearing of diploma case
ISTANBUL
FILE - Republican People's Party, (CHP) candidate for Istanbul Ekrem Imamoğlu addresses supporters at his party headquarters in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 31, 2024.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu appeared in court on Sept. 12 for the opening hearing of a case accusing him of fraudulently obtaining his university diploma.
İmamoğlu, who has been in prison since March as part of a corruption investigation into the municipality, rejected all accusations at the first hearing of the diploma trial.
In March, Istanbul University annulled his diploma, claiming irregularities during his transfer from a university in Turkish Cyprus.
The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation against him on charges of document forgery, seeking up to eight years in prison and a political ban.
The trial was initially scheduled for Sept. 11 at Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse but was later moved to Sept. 12 and held inside Marmara Prison in the Silivri district, where the mayor is jailed pending a graft trial.
“When you read this indictment, you wonder: How could an 18-year-old boy have possibly done all this 35 years ago?” İmamoğlu asked the judge.
“This indictment was not written by the prosecutor. It was dictated by someone who knows I will win the next election,” he added, reiterating his belief that the case is politically motivated.
Calling the case “a disgrace in itself,” İmamoğlu said he was struggling even to defend himself. “I am on trial facing a prison sentence. The very subject of this case is absurd.”
Under Turkish law, a university degree is a prerequisite for presidential candidacy.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) argues that both the annulment of the diploma and the lawsuit are deliberate attempts to block the popular mayor’s path to a presidential run.
Claiming to be the true victim, İmamoğlu declared, “My hard-earned diploma was annulled. Five years of my youth, my labor, my dedication — wiped out in an instant.”
“Here lies the real reason for my punishment,” he said, pointing to a map of the 2024 Istanbul municipal election results. “I won 32 of the city’s 39 districts.”
CHP leader Özgür Özel also attended the hearing and was expected to visit İmamoğlu at the prison following the session.
