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In the prison where he is being held, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is facing trial for several cases unrelated to his recent arrest, which sparked massive protests across Turkey. Andrew Hilliar reports from Istanbul.
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The first hearing in a criminal case against dismissed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu begins this Friday
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This is not related to his arrest three weeks ago when he was placed in pretrial detention on corruption charges and removed from office
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Many have been saying the case or the cases against him are political
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Imamoglu, widely seen as the biggest threat to the Turkish president's two-decade grip on power
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his arrest sparking massive anti-government protests across the country, And on the eve of the trial, authorities freed more than 120 people that had been detained during that unrest
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Andrew Hillier, a reporter, standing outside the Silviri prison where Imamoglu is being held in greater Istanbul
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Hello to you, Andrew. Several hearings today unrelated to his arrest three weeks ago
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What more can you tell us? Yes, well, that's absolutely right. Well, behind me is the sprawling Silivri prison complex where Ekrem Imamoglu is being held
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His hearings are underway. They're taking place in a courthouse inside the prison
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And at the outset of proceedings, Ekrem Imamoglu's lawyer requested that the hearings be cancelled
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That was refused by the judge. Now, Ekrem Imamoglu has been addressing the court
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He said that I am here because someone said whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey
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That's someone he's referring to, of course, a Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
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And now, just to be clear, as you mentioned there, these cases that for which there are hearings today are unrelated to his arrest three weeks ago
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Now, the other thing that's important to point out is that these hearings were initially scheduled to take place in courthouses in Istanbul itself
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They were then moved to the courthouse inside the prison Now that decision may have been taken to avoid people gathering outside the courthouses in Istanbul
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Silivri is far more inaccessible. It is some 60 kilometres away from Istanbul
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Our team had to show our press cards just to get access here
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Now, the first hearing for which Imamoglu is appearing is related to remarks he made back in January
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against Istanbul's chief public prosecutor. He's accused of making threatening remarks, and he risks up to seven years in prison if he's convicted of that
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The other two hearings are for trials, ongoing trials in which Imamoglu is accused of corruption
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These are all allegations flatly denied by Ekrem Imamoglu. And how has the Turkish opposition been reacting to all of this
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Well, Will, a short while ago, my colleague Julie Dungelhoff actually spoke to the vice chairman of the CHP
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That's Turkey's main opposition party, the party to which Ekrem Imamoglu himself belongs
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And he said that the cases were all part of an operation to destroy the CHP and to sabotage Ekrem Imamoglu's presidential ambitions
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He said the cases had no legal foundation. These are allegations all denied by the Turkish government, of course
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But the CHP vice chairman adding that Ekrem Imamoglu was in high spirits when he was last visited
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saying that he was able to receive visitors amongst them MPs, lawyers, other mayors
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And the CHP is saying that it will continue holding its rallies scheduled every Wednesday night in Istanbul and every Sunday in a different city in Turkey
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All right, Andrew. Thank you very much. Andrew Hillier reporting from outside Silevri prison in Istanbul
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