The first court hearing in the organized criminal group case against Ekrem İmamoğlu, former Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and 406 other individuals begins today.
Modern.az reports, citing local media, that the case is being heard by the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court. The proceedings are taking place at the Marmara closed prison complex, and hearings are planned to continue 4 days a week until the end of April.
According to the indictment, 407 individuals are accused in the case, 105 of whom are in custody, and 7 are fugitives. The prosecution has named İmamoğlu as the leader of the criminal organization.
İmamoğlu and other accused individuals are charged with the following crimes:
establishing and managing a criminal organization, bribery and corruption, fraud against state institutions, tender manipulation, money laundering, illegal acquisition and dissemination of personal data, damage to state property, concealment of evidence, and dissemination of false information to the public
According to the prosecution's calculations, the organization's activities resulted in damages amounting to approximately 160 billion Turkish Liras and 24 million US dollars.
The indictment seeks a prison sentence of 849 years to 2430 years and 6 months for Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The court hearings will initially begin with the identification of the accused individuals and the reading of the indictment's summary.
