İmamoğlu Presents Defense at 99th Hearing: 'My Home and Hearth Are an Open Book'

Detained Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu continued into the second day of his defense at the 99th hearing held at Çağlayan Courthouse. İmamoğlu, who has been held at Silivri Prison since 23 March 2025, directly rejected allegations concerning his assets during a defense process that is set to run until 17 October.

According to reports by Diken and Bianet, İmamoğlu declared, 'My home and hearth are an open book — I have no hidden title deeds,' and stated that all of his assets could be examined. He also called on members of the judiciary and public officials to disclose their own assets, and requested that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu be heard as a witness.

In a case in which 436 defendants — 53 of them detained — are being tried, İmamoğlu noted that the indictment runs to 4,000 pages with a further 80,000 pages of annexes, and argued that his right to mount a defense is effectively curtailed by a prison regime that allows him only two hours of computer access per week.

The initial indictment sought a prison sentence of between 849 years and 2,430 years and 6 months for İmamoğlu. The most recent supplementary indictment, relating to Ağaç A.Ş., covers 29 individuals; under that indictment, sentences of between 62 and 168 years are sought against İmamoğlu. The charges include establishing a criminal organization, bribery, bid rigging, and fraud against public institutions.