İmamoğlu’s lawyer arrested as 4 more released under ‘effective repentance’
ISTANBUL
A court has ordered the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's lawyer as part of a widening corruption investigation, with four more suspects released after turning state’s witness.
İmamoğlu, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been imprisoned since late March, along with dozens of senior municipal officials, in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged graft at the Istanbul Municipality.
In the latest development, his lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, was arrested on charges of “membership in a criminal organization” and “actions aimed at preventing the group’s disbandment.”
Prosecutors alleged that he attempted to gain access to testimony given by other suspects during police and prosecutorial questioning.
Authorities claimed that prior to March 19, the date of the first operation, Pehlivan took part in planning the legal defense of suspects under investigation, with the goal of coordinating which lawyers would represent whom — allegedly to gain access to the statements of cooperating individuals.
Pehlivan already disclosed on May 18 that he was under investigation on a separate charge of attempting to intimidate or pressure a cooperating suspect who invoked the “effective repentance” clause.
Under Turkish law, suspects who confess to certain crimes and provide useful information to authorities under the “effective remorse” provisions can receive reduced sentences or even pretrial release. The Istanbul municipality case has seen multiple figures benefit from such arrangements.
Most recently, four individuals — Ogün Soytekin, Murat Erenler, Nezahat Kurt and Bülent Yılmaz — were released after cooperating with the authorities.
Another major development in the case involves Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, who was arrested alongside İmamoğlu in March and is battling serious health issues.
Çalık, who suffers from acute leukemia and lymphoma, was transferred earlier this month from an Istanbul prison to another facility in the western province of İzmir.
Çalık’s lawyers petitioned for his release, arguing that his medical condition is incompatible with incarceration.
According to the Justice Ministry, the request is currently under review, and Çalık was taken to a hospital for medical examinations.
The cancer NGO LÖSEV has also called for his immediate release. Dr. Üstün Ezer, the head of LÖSEV, stated that they reviewed Çalık’s case file and concluded that "even one more hour in prison poses a life-threatening risk."
