Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in shouting match with judge as trial begins

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in shouting match with judge as trial begins Submitted by Güldenay Sonumut on Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:36 Detainees must review tens of thousands of pages of documents with just two hours of weekly computer access Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Dilek Imamoglu, wife of Ekrem Imamoglu, the jailed mayor of Istanbul and main rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, address the media, 9 March 2026 (Umit Bektas/Reuters) Off Temperatures rose quickly on the opening day of the mass corruption trial involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and more than 400 co-defendants, with the mayor challenging the judge and seeking permission to address supporters at the outset of the hearing. The judges did not allow Imamoglu to proceed, arguing that such a request was not part of regular court procedure, as the mayor’s supporters chanted slogans in his favour. Imamoglu walked towards the bench, asking to speak.