In one of the most explosive political and judicial confrontations in modern Turkish history, prosecutors have demanded a staggering 2,430 years of imprisonment for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu – a leading opposition figure widely viewed as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most formidable challenger in the upcoming 2028 presidential election. The unprecedented indictment accuses İmamoğlu of orchestrating a sprawling corruption and organized crime network that allegedly defrauded the Turkish state of billions of liras.

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office has formally filed charges against İmamoğlu and more than 400 co-defendants, painting a sweeping picture of graft, embezzlement, and abuse of office on a scale unseen in decades. The indictment, comprising 143 separate counts, alleges that İmamoğlu and his associates engaged in bribery, money laundering, fraud, and bid-rigging in municipal projects between 2014 and 2024.

According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, prosecutors claim that the alleged crimes resulted in public losses exceeding 160 billion Turkish lira (approximately $3.8 billion) and an additional $24 million in personal enrichment. The case, now before the Istanbul High Criminal Court, could mark a turning point for Turkey’s judiciary and its already tense political climate.

Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, who oversaw the indictment, likened İmamoğlu’s alleged organization to “the tentacles of an octopus,” spreading its influence across municipal departments, public tenders, and financial institutions. “What we uncovered is not just corruption,” Gurlek declared. “It is a parallel network functioning as an organized criminal structure within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.”

The prosecution claims that İmamoğlu and his inner circle........

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