istanbul: Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor appeared in court on Friday in one of multiple cases against him.
Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, where the hearing was taking place.
Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been held at Silivri since March 23. The case alleges that he threatened a public prosecutor and is one of six that predate his arrest last month, which led to nationwide protests.
Addressing the judge, Imamoglu said he was in court because he had won three elections against the person “who thinks he owns Istanbul”, a reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who launched his political career as the city’s mayor in the 1990s.
Erdogan was heavily involved in backing his party’s candidates against Imamoglu.
The mayor, who is also the main opposition challenger to Erdogan’s 22-year rule at the next election, faces more than seven years in prison and a political ban for allegedly “targeting, threatening and insulting persons working in the fight against terrorism”.