After a complex judicial investigation, based mainly on testimonies from undercover informants, the indictment was released today by the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office in the case of Ekrem Imamoglu’s alleged fake diploma, which was awarded to him 31 years ago.

Last March, Imamoglu was removed from office as mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and on March 19 was taken to Silivria Prison outside Istanbul. Two days ago, he even completed 100 days in jail, a date that became the occasion for a huge protest rally outside Istanbul City Hall, where the leader of the opposition party, Ozgur Ozel, in a particularly harsh speech, called the Turkish president a “junta leader.”

The indictment will rekindle a sense of injustice

Imamoglu’s lengthy pre-trial detention had already sparked protests and fears that the sentences he would face would be tantamount to disqualifying him from politics. The indictment published today confirms these fears.

The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office document states that “Ekrem Imamoglu obtained the diploma fraudulently and participated in the crime of successive forgery.” A prison sentence of up to 8 years and 9 months and a ban on political activity were sought. The indictment was sent to the Criminal Court of First Instance.

In response to the ruling, Imamoglu’s lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, who is in custody, filed a lawsuit at the 5th Administrative Court asking for a “stay of execution”. And the dean of Istanbul University’s business school, who had stated that “there were no irregularities” regarding Imamoglu’s diploma, resigned from his position due to “health problems.”

Imamoglu’s case will reignite the sense of injustice felt by many of the former mayor’s supporters, while Turkish analysts predict that the Turkish judiciary may now turn its arrows towards opposition leader Oğur Özel for disrespecting the Turkish president.