The former opposition CHP Party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has been sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in prison on charges of “insulting the President”.
The verdict was delivered by today at the Mersin Criminal Court of First Instance as part of the ongoing court case against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality İBB. The verdict has added to growing concerns about the use of criminal courts to silence political opposition in Turkey. The IBB case is widely seen as part of a broader pattern of politically motivated prosecutions aimed at weakening elected local government and silencing dissent. Proceedings in the case remain ongoing, with the outcomes expected to have significant implications for democratic governance and local administration.
The ruling comes amid an intensifying crackdown on opposition politicians and elected officials. Notably, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu remains imprisoned following his arrest in March 2025 as part of the wider İBB trial. İmamoğlu is widely regarded as one of President Erdoğan’s strongest political challengers and has been held in pre-trial detention for over a year.
These developments also echo the long running imprisonment of Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the HDP. Demirtaş has been jailed since 2016 despite multiple binding rulings from the European Court of Human Rights calling for his immediate release. Turkish courts have continued to issue new sentences and charges, keeping him behind bars in defiance of international judgments.
Together, these developments highlight a pattern in which judicial processes are increasingly used against opposition leaders, mayors and political figures in Turkey. These prosecutions are attacks on democratic freedom.
Solidarity with the People of Turkey stands with all those facing judicial repression for exercising democratic rights, political opposition and freedom of expression.