Abuse of power & retaliationCourts & justice
Istanbul court keeps Ekrem İmamoğlu and three others jailed in 'political espionage' case; hearings on 13 May and 29 Sept 2026 both ended with continued detention
Confidence: Corroborated · 5 sourcesTurkey · Oct 12, 2026
Subject of this story
Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court
Also named
Affected
Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)
Merdan Yanardağ, Journalist; editor-in-chief of TELE1 (Turkey)
Necati Özkan, Political adviser to Ekrem İmamoğlu
What happened
The Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court (Silivri) is trying Ekrem İmamoğlu, adviser Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ and businessman Hüseyin Gün under Article 328 of the Penal Code, with prosecutors seeking 15 to 20 years. On 13 May 2026 the court kept all four in detention citing the severity of the charges and incomplete evidence collection; it did so again on 29 September 2026, setting the next hearing for 23 December 2026. Pro-government outlet Takvim reports witness testimony about cash euro deliveries; opposition parties describe the prosecutions as political, which authorities deny.
By the numbers (1)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Roles
○
The court ruled to maintain detention for all four defendants; 15 to 20 years are sought.
1 source
- diken.com.tr
Court ruled to maintain detention for all four defendants; 15 to 20 years sought
Sources (5)
Turkish MinuteThe İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court ruled for the continued detention of İmamoğlu, businessman Hüseyin Gün,
Expression Interrupted (P24)The case was adjourned until 29 September 2026.
Euronews TürkçeDuruşmada tüm sanıkların tutukluluk halinin devamına karar verildi. Dava, 23 Aralık'a ertelendi.
diken.com.trCourt ruled to maintain detention for all four defendants; 15 to 20 years sought; next hearing July 6, 2026
takvim.com.trDört sanığın tutukluluk halinin devamına hükmetti; sonraki celse 23 Aralık 2026
Response
Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court
No response by publication
Contacted — no response by publication.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.