Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been summoned for questioning as part of two separate investigations launched in the past 18 days. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses İmamoğlu of attempting to improperly influence a judicial investigation and publicly criticizing a court-appointed expert in a manner prosecutors argue constitutes intimidation.

The mayor arrived at Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse, accompanied by his legal team and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, a fellow member of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). İmamoğlu was questioned by the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau regarding remarks he made about Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek and his family during a television appearance, as well as allegations of attempting to pressure a judicial expert.

İmamoğlu’s summoning is particularly notable as it comes amid a wave of widespread detentions and arrests targeting political figures, including mayors from Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish provinces, officials from opposition-controlled municipalities in Istanbul, and the recent arrest of Victory Party Chair Ümit Özdağ.

As İmamoğlu entered the courthouse at 10:00 AM, riot police........

© Medyascope