İstanbul mayor faces fresh investigation after claiming bias by court-appointed expert

İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is facing a new investigation after revealing at a press conference today that the same court-appointed expert has been assigned to multiple cases targeting municipalities run by his Republican People's Party (CHP).

Shortly after İmamoğlu's presser, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the investigation was launched against him on charges of "attempting to influence judicial officials" under Articles 277 and 288 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The prosecutor's office alleged that by disclosing the name of the expert, İmamoğlu had "publicly targeted the individual with the aim of influencing judicial decisions in favor of the investigation suspects."

During the conference, İmamoğlu addressed ongoing investigations into the Metropolitan Municipality and district municipalities run by the CHP. He revealed that S. B., a retired official from the Public Works and Housing Ministry, had served as a court-appointed expert in these investigations.

These cases include probes into the municipality’s public transportation company İETT, natural gas distribution company İGDAŞ, and road construction company İSFALT, as well as investigations into the Esenyurt and Beşiktaş district municipalities, where the mayors have recently been arrested.

Arrest of CHP district mayors

The mayor of Esenyurt, Ahmet Özer, was arrested in October on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" and was handed a second arrest warrant on Jan 21 over allegations of irregularities in procurement processes. Similarly, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat was detained on Jan 16 on charges of procurement irregularities. S. B. served as an expert witness in these cases as well.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, following Akpolat's arrest, remarked, "The biggest radish is still in the bag," a statement interpreted by some as a hint at possible legal actions targeting İmamoğlu.

At today’s press conference, İmamoğlu drew a connection between Erdoğan’s comments and S.B.'s involvement in the investigations, saying, "The expert in our cases is always Mr. S. B. There are 8,806 experts in İstanbul, yet it’s always him for us. What a coincidence."

He accused S. B. of preparing a flawed report against İETT. "Mr. S. B. drafted a report full of baseless claims against İETT. He is remarkably quick, completing reports in no time. Even the Council of State auditors sent a letter stating that his findings were incorrect."

İmamoğlu also questioned S. B.'s credibility, asking, "Has this famous expert of İstanbul, Mr. S. B., ever faced trial at the Çorlu Heavy Penal Court on allegations of preparing a fraudulent expert report?"

He also pointed out irregularities in a Jan 3 expert report concerning municipal companies. According to İmamoğlu, the report bore only S. B.'s signature, while the other two experts on the committee refused to sign it. "The other two experts stated, ‘The mayor cannot be accused in this report,’ and declined to sign it. Yet the prosecutor’s office, aware of this, still accepted this legally invalid report as a basis. On Jan 13, operations targeting Beşiktaş and Esenyurt were carried out. Let’s underline this: While these operations weren’t solely based on this report, the report, which holds no legal weight, turned Ahmet Özer into a suspect."

İmamoğlu added that the two other experts later submitted their own signed report to the prosecutor. "The prosecutor said, ‘There’s no problem.' But that’s not how it works. The law clearly states that if the committee is divided, dissent must be explained within the same report. A single-signed report from a multi-expert committee cannot be accepted."

Legal challenges targeting İmamoğlu

Since defeating the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in İstanbul’s 2019 municipal elections, ending the AKP and its predecessors’ 25-year control of the city, İmamoğlu has emerged as a prominent opposition figure and a potential rival to Erdoğan in future presidential elections.

In Dec 2022, a court sentenced İmamoğlu to two years in prison and a five-year political ban over allegedly insulting members of the Supreme Election Council in a 2019 speech. The opposition claimed his remarks were taken out of context. The verdict is currently under appeal. (VK)