Jailed former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu appeared in court Monday in three separate criminal proceedings, as one of the cases involving allegations over his university diploma was postponed until Dec. 25.
The Istanbul 59th Criminal Court of First Instance ruled to delay the diploma case pending the finalization of a separate administrative court decision concerning the validity of Imamoğlu's degree.
The case stems from allegations that Imamoğlu fraudulently obtained a bachelor's degree from Istanbul University's Faculty of Business Administration in 1994. Prosecutors launched an investigation earlier this year after complaints were filed over the authenticity of his diploma.
In March 2025, Istanbul University annulled the diplomas of Imamoğlu and 27 others, citing what it described as legal nullity and procedural errors. Prosecutors later charged him with forgery of an official document.
In a separate espionage case heard the same day, prosecutors requested that Imamoğlu remain in pretrial detention alongside co-defendants, including journalist Merdan Yanardağ, political consultant Necati Özkan and businessperson Hüseyin Gün.
The prosecutor’s office concluded that Gün operated “under the appearance of a business person” while acting as an intelligence asset, a finding it said was supported by both intelligence and police assessments.
In earlier testimony, Gün told investigators that he owned a company named Piiq and claimed to have partnered with Aaron Barr, whom he described as a former CIA officer.
Prosecutors argued that there was sufficient evidence supporting accusations of political and military espionage and said the defendants' detention remained proportionate given the seriousness of the charges.
The former mayor also appeared in a separate corruption trial linked to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).
The indictment, spanning nearly 3,900 pages, accuses Imamoğlu of leading a criminal organization and committing multiple corruption-related offenses.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence ranging from 828 years to 2,352 years, arguing that he bears responsibility for 142 separate criminal acts.
He has been held in pretrial detention since March 23, 2025, as part of the corruption investigation and was subsequently suspended from office by Türkiye's Interior Ministry pending the outcome of the judicial process.
