Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu told a Turkish court on April 28, 2026 that he and fellow detainees were subjected to torture following their arrest on March 19, 2025 — and that the abuse is "still ongoing." The statements were entered into the official court record during a hearing in the ongoing "Ekrem İmamoğlu Criminal Organization" trial held in Silivri, as reported by Murat Yetkin in the YetkinReport.
Speaking before the court, İmamoğlu — the elected mayor of Istanbul, a city of 15.5 million registered voters, and the Republican People's Party's (CHP) presidential candidate — described the five-day period between March 19 and March 23 as extraordinarily difficult. "We went through a very troubled five days," he said. "Five days hungry and thirsty. May God spare anyone from such torment, such torture. This torture has become routine and is still being carried out."
İmamoğlu further alleged that a prosecutor named Cahit Cihat Sarı verbally abused and insulted him and other defendants in the basement of the Çağlayan Courthouse. He noted that Sarı has since been promoted to Director General of Personnel Affairs at the Ministry of Justice — a detail he described as a reward for the prosecutor's conduct.
The hearing also featured testimony from cooperating contractor Âdem Soytekin, who stated that an unnamed Ankara politician had contacted Prosecutor Sarı on his behalf, and that the two later had a falling out. Soytekin declined to name the politician, and the presiding judge did not press him to do so.
According to Yetkin's reporting, İmamoğlu's formal on-record account of mistreatment carries significant legal weight under the European Convention on Human Rights — a treaty Turkey has signed — which affords prominent protections against torture and ill-treatment. The court proceedings continue.