In October 2025, a new case accusing imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of espionage was announced by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor.

An indictment accuses İmamoğlu, his advisor Necati Özkan, and opposition journalist Merdan Yanardağ of ‘political espionage’. The Istanbul Mayor is alleged to have shared personal data of Istanbul residents with foreign governments in order to secure funding for his 2019 mayoral campaign.

The indictment rests heavily upon admissions made by Hüseyin Gün, a businessman arrested in July 2025 on suspicions of conducting intelligence activities on behalf of foreign governments. Text messages exchanged between Gün and foreign intelligence services such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Israel also form a bulk of the evidence in the case.

A series of text messages between Gün and Yanardağ discussing political matters in the........

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