Turkish court sentences Istanbul mayor to prison - China.org.cn

A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced the mayor of Türkiye's largest city Istanbul to prison and barred him from holding political office.

The court ruling for Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was two years, seven months and 15 days in prison over charges of insulting members of Türkiye's Supreme Electoral Council.

However, government critics said this sentence was to remove a potential rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the lead-up to presidential elections next year.

The mayor has seven days to appeal the ruling.