İmamoğlu accused of espionage, court rejects CHP's "absolute nullity" case – read live

A new investigation has been launched against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, İmamoğlu's campaign director Necati Özkan, and journalist Merdan Yanardağ on charges of "espionage." Yanardağ was taken into custody. Additionally, 15 people were detained on charges of leaking personal data through digital applications as part of a "corruption" investigation into the IMM. Meanwhile , a lawsuit filed today against the CHP congress, publicly known as "absolute nullity," alleging "questions of suspicion," was heard. The court dismissed the case. You can follow all developments on our live coverage page.

Former CHP Istanbul Deputy Berhan Şimşek was expelled from the party by the decision of the High Disciplinary Board. Furthermore, former deputy Metin Lütfi Baydar and Sultanbeyli delegate Özgür Çelik were also among those expelled from the party by the decision of the High Disciplinary Board.

CHP’s imprisoned presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was acquitted of the lawsuit filed on charges of “tender rigging” regarding a tender held during his term as Beylikdüzü Mayor.

Background of the case

An investigation was launched against İmamoğlu on charges of "tender rigging" related to a tender held in 2015, when he was mayor of Beylikdüzü. Following an investigation by Ministry of Interior inspectors, the Council of State ruled that İmamoğlu had not committed any irregularities during this process.

However, following a complaint from the Ministry of Interior, the prosecutor's office launched a new investigation in 2023 and filed a lawsuit against İmamoğlu. In the case heard at the Büyükçekmece 10th Criminal Court of First Instance, the prosecutor's office requested a prison sentence of three to seven years and a political ban for İmamoğlu. At the tenth hearing, held on July 11, 2025, the court adjourned the case until October 24, 2025.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made a statement regarding the "espionage" investigation.

Speaking about the possibility of appointing a trustee to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), Özel said, “Let me be frank. Of course, there are those trying to fan the embers of this trustee debate. What are they hoping for? Ekrem İmamoğlu is being tried without being detained on terrorism charges. Forget about a trial. More accurately, he's awaiting an indictment. As you know, the moment an investigation is launched into terrorism, there's always the possibility of appointing a trustee. And the very idea of ​​appointing a trustee has repelled the conscience of this nation so much that they haven't had the courage to do it.”

Regarding the special nullity case, he said, "They found some devices they could use. They tried to make us sick. To cause illness, you need a microbe. They searched for a microbe and found one. They tried to introduce it into our bodies. The strong structure of the Republican People's Party, united and solidar, neither got sick, nor lost power, nor accepted these microbes, and now this issue is completely over."

Reacting to the detention of Merdan Yanardağ, Özel said:

"Don't even get Merdan Yanardağ involved in anything, brother. Just as this man constantly creates problems with his journalism, Merdan Yanardağ and TELE1, despite all the impossibilities, are striving for honorable journalism in that tiny space in that industrial site. We all see this. What a struggle it is. Just as it creates problems, they should also put Merdan Yanardağ in charge of every issue. They should hold him for four days and then release him. They should take him, commit him to a year, and then release him. FETÖ was also dealing with this. Then they tried for completely different reasons. They're still dealing with it. So, for Merdan Yanardağ, I suppose they've added this piece to their collection. They've left no stone unturned against an honorable journalist, but they haven't been able to prove a single one to date. We wish the TELE1 family a speedy recovery. We've already expressed our solidarity. We will continue to stand with them."

DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları reacted to the "espionage" investigation:

A new investigation has been added to the string of investigations clearly driven by political motivations. The investigation launched against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ on charges of "espionage" is unacceptable. We are faced with a despicable mindset that attempts to derive "espionage" from journalistic activity. The detention of Merdan Yanardağ, who has been practicing journalism for years before the eyes of all of Türkiye, is a character assassination and an attempt to intimidate the opposition press. We stand with the TELE1 workers who were subjected to police searches while conducting their morning broadcasts.

CHP Deputy Chair Gül Çiftci Binici said:

There is an espionage accusation that has been brought against Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu and Necati Özkan, either through someone's claim or through someone's connection. However, as you know, we have a confidentiality order, as is the case with you. Therefore, we cannot obtain information regarding the contents of the file. However, we can see in an open internet search that Hüseyin Gün, the alleged businessman, was arrested on July 4th on charges of espionage following someone's complaint. He has been in prison since then, and the operation, which hadn't been conducted since then, is being carried out this morning on charges of espionage. In other words, this is a significant accusation, a rather significant one when you consider it.

CHP Deputy Chair Gökçe Gökçen released a statement on social media regarding the espionage investigation. Gökçen included the following statement:

The government's obsession with Ekrem İmamoğlu has now become a disease. Their fear of losing an election manifests itself by meddling with the Turkish Penal Code and searching for criminal charges against İmamoğlu. Neither performing municipal services nor running for office constitutes espionage. Ekrem İmamoğlu, who won the presidential nomination with the votes of 15.5 million citizens, is certainly not a spy. Those who spread these slanders will first be held accountable for having citizens' data stolen, posting it online, and creating opportunities for blackmailers through health data.

CHP Deputy Group Chairman Murat Emir released a statement on social media regarding the espionage investigation. Emir stated the following:

A presidential candidate elected four times by popular vote, a journalist who paid the price for the public's right to access the news, and a political communicator who ensured that candidate's connection with the public... Ekrem İmamoğlu, Merdan Yanardağ, and Necati Özkan are all implicated in the same case under charges of 'espionage.' Let's put this bluntly: the government has now moved to the stage of criminalizing the very act of seizing power. It's trying to portray the ballot box as a threat, the election as a coup, and a 'plan to seize' the people's will. This is an operation to push democracy out of the regime. The government declares itself 'unchangeable' while coding its alternative as 'danger.' And this is the final stage of authoritarianism.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu shared his first post regarding the accusation against him:

Such slander, lies, and conspiracies would never even occur to the devil! We are faced with a shameful immorality that cannot be described in words. What kind of ambition, what kind of lust for power, what kind of fear and despair is this? Will you convince this beloved nation, which you failed to convince with accusations of corruption and terrorism, with an incomprehensible slander like espionage? My dear nation, the operations carried out today through the judiciary have now become a grave and historic threat to the Republic of Turkey, the noble Turkish Judiciary, and our 86 million citizens. But never lose hope: With determination, resolve, and patience, we will continue our struggle against this handful of ambitious individuals for the survival of our state and nation.

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik reacted to the "espionage" investigation:

All the conspiracies against our people's will have collapsed, and new ones are doomed to collapse as well! The launch of an investigation on charges of "espionage" against Ekrem İmamoğlu, our presidential candidate who won three consecutive elections with 15.5 million votes, and the detention of journalist Merdan Yanardağ on the same grounds, are a continuation of the ambition to completely suppress the will of the people, which was the target of the March 19 Coup Attempt, and to establish a Türkiye where elections have become a sham. What they failed to achieve with the revocation of diplomas and evidence-free corruption indictments full of slander, they are now trying again with the absurd pretext of "espionage." The coup-plotting, trustee-based shady politics, repelled by our people's relentless resistance of nearly 300 days, never learns its lesson. They have never stopped harming our country's economy, peace, and social peace. We have thwarted all their conspiracies to date. We have thrown the truth in their faces. Let them know that in the face of all slander and tyranny, We will resist without bending an inch or taking a single step back, we will never give up the struggle for a fully independent Türkiye.”

Ekrem İmamoğlu's wife, Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, reacted to the "espionage" investigation in a humorous way on her social media account:

According to recent investigations, it is alleged that Ekrem İmamoğlu also burned Rome. Even though we did not live during that period, we still demand that this matter be investigated meticulously. As long as the investigations continue. History can wait!!! Unfortunately, we, as a nation, are now in a tragicomic situation.

Let's not let the situation get bogged down between an espionage investigation on one side and an absolute nullity case on the other: CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik received his certificate of election.

Çelik ran as the sole candidate at the CHP Istanbul Ordinary Provincial Congress last Sunday and won the election.

Re-elected Özgür Çelik received his certificate of election from the Bahçelievler District Election Board.

Özgür Çelik announced that they will go to the Büyükçekmece Courthouse to follow the case filed against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu regarding his term as Beylikdüzü Mayor, which will be heard at 15:00.

CHP Deputy Chair Gül Çiftci commented on the rejection of the absolute nullity case:

The lawsuit filed against our party's 38th Ordinary Congress has been dismissed by the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance. This decision confirms the legal lack of basis for a lawsuit filed for political purposes from the outset, and reaffirms the legitimacy of the congress process and the will of our delegates. As we have stated from the outset, the lawsuit should have been dismissed from the outset. It has once again become clear that none of the political manipulations and legal pressures against our party throughout this process have served any purpose. The people's party continues its march to power, even stronger, driven by the will of the people.

The verdict was reached in today's hearing of the case filed for the cancellation of the CHP Congress.

Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance ruled to reject the lawsuit filed by Lütfü Savaş on the grounds of active hostility and the other plaintiffs on the grounds that the case was left without a subject.

Thus, the CHP congress will not be canceled.

You can read the details here.

In a statement made by the DEM Party's social media account X, the espionage investigation was reacted:

This morning, police raided TELE1 on charges of espionage, and Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ was taken into custody. We have learned that an investigation into Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has also been launched for espionage as part of the same investigation. It's clear that another judicial operation has been launched, demonstrating the extent to which the scales of justice in the country have become unbalanced. The duty of the law should be to ensure justice. However, unfortunately, judicial mechanisms in Türkiye have long been used as a tool to shape politics. Attempting to suppress politics and the press through desk-based political engineering will not bring success to those behind this effort.

The lawsuit filed against the CHP congress, alleging "dubiousness," has begun.

In the previous hearing, the court had decided to inquire about the latest status of the cases related to the congress and to request the delegate list of the extraordinary congress held on September 21 and the delegate list of the Istanbul Provincial Congress held on September 24 by writing a warrant to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) and CHP headquarters.

The Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance rejected the requests for injunctions as before.

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The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that 15 people were detained for crimes such as "obtaining personal data in an unlawful manner" and "violating the Tax Procedure Law" as part of the investigation into the "Istanbul Senin" and "İBB Hanem" applications.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that a separate "data" investigation was being conducted as part of the "espionage" investigation launched this morning, and that 15 people had been detained. The statement included the following statements:

“Regarding the detection of the leak of the personal data and location information of 4.7 million application users to two different foreign countries through the application named ‘Istanbul Senin’, the sale of the personal data and location information of 3.7 million application users on the ‘dark web’, and the processing of the ballot box data of 11 million citizens within the sub-application named ‘İBB Hanem’ within the same application and the leaking of it outside the program, a total of 15 suspects, consisting of 13 suspects who are managers in the programs and managers and other officials in 6 separate companies including companies affiliated with the İBB and who are detected to have a relationship with the aforementioned organization managers, and also 2 suspects who are understood to have participated in the acts of issuing fake invoices to the companies of the fugitive organization leader Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, were subjected to simultaneous arrest, detention, search and seizure operations as of 06:00 today on charges of ‘obtaining personal data illegally’, ‘violation of the Tax Procedure Law’ and being a member of the Ekrem İmamoğlu Criminal Organization for Benefits. All of the suspects have been taken into custody.”

Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office made a statement on the issue.

Merdan Yanardağ was allegedly linked to Hüseyin Gün, who was arrested on July 4th and accused of espionage for alleged ties to various terrorist organizations. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that a warrant had been issued for Ekrem İmamoğlu and his advisor Necati Özkan, who were arrested in the March 19th operation, to appear at the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Çağlayan to testify on "espionage" charges.

The statement included allegations that “election manipulation was carried out in collaboration with foreign intelligence services and that the crime of espionage was committed” in the 2019 elections.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's statement stated that during the investigation, Gün's digital materials contained photographs of military ammunition and weapons that civilians or companies could not possibly obtain, as well as passport photographs of Israeli citizens who were understood to be engaged in military or political activities in Israel.

In the MASAK investigation regarding Hüseyin Gün, who was reportedly identified as having numerous communications with individuals facing legal proceedings within the scope of the FETÖ/PDY armed terrorist organization, individuals facing legal proceedings within the scope of the terrorist organization PKK/KCK, and consular officials from various countries, it was noted that despite not currently having a commercial enterprise, he had large domestic and international money transfers, 85 million liras were withdrawn in cash from his accounts, and no purchase or sale records were found regarding the use of this amount.

"Photos of military ammunition and weapons that would not be possible for civilians or companies to obtain, and passport photos of Israeli citizens who are understood to be active in the military or political arena in the Country of Israel, were found. Communications via GSM lines of individuals facing legal proceedings within the scope of the FETÖ/PDY Armed Terrorist Organization and individuals facing legal proceedings within the scope of the PKK/KCK Armed Terrorist Organization were found, and numerous communication connections with consulate officials from different countries were identified."

The statement included the following statements:

“It has also been determined that the suspect, through the same cryptographic communication program, had conversations with the suspect Necati Özkan, one of the leaders of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s profit-oriented criminal organization, instructing him to “gather digital intelligence, matters to be considered in the work carried out for İmamoğlu, the urgent activation of 70,000 volunteers, Murat Ongun’s cell phone being infected with spyware that could allow remote access wiretapping, and therefore it is very important for Murat not to take his phone to sensitive private campaign meetings with Mr. Ekrem,” and that the suspect Hüseyin Gün was operating as a manager within the criminal organization, hierarchically above the suspect Necati Özkan, one of the leaders of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s profit-oriented criminal organization.”

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office statement also included the following statements:

“… It has been understood that the aim of the organization was to raise funds for Ekrem İmamoğlu’s presidential candidacy, that Hüseyin Gün, a suspect from the leaders of the criminal organization, cooperated with the suspect Necati Özkan in the 2019 Local Election Campaign and that they acted in line with this aim, especially by leaking confidential information about voters, that they analyzed the election districts, created voter profiles and determined strategies, that while carrying out this work, the information about the voters was shared with foreign intelligence services and that the action was within the scope of espionage activities, and that the suspect Hüseyin Gün had contact and joint meetings with Ekrem İmamoğlu, another suspect and founder of the criminal organization. According to the evidence obtained within the scope of the investigation, it was determined that the media member suspect Merdan Yanardağ had numerous contacts and correspondences regarding the espionage activities with Hüseyin Gün, a suspect from the leaders of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s profit-oriented Criminal Organization, and as confirmed by witness testimony, the suspect Merdan Yanardağ organized the press leg of the election process by obtaining benefits from the suspect Hüseyin Gün and that he cooperated with foreign intelligence services in the 2019 local elections. It has been understood that he participated in activities aimed at manipulating the elections and thus committed the crime of espionage.”

This morning, we opened our eyes to a new investigation. A new investigation has been launched against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, İmamoğlu's election campaign director Necati Özkan, and TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ, who were arrested on March 23rd, on charges of "espionage."

TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ was detained this morning. His office was also searched at TELE1.

Gökhan Kayış, who was presenting the Sabah Pusulası program on TELE1 at the time, reported the events live on the channel.