A criminal court in Istanbul on 16 July sentenced the city’s jailed and suspended mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, to one year and eight months in prison for insulting and threatening Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. The ruling stems from remarks İmamoğlu made in January that prosecutors said threatened Gürlek and his family and demeaned the prosecutor’s office. The panel of judges imposed 17 months for insulting a public official and a further two months and 15 days for issuing a threat, while acquitting İmamoğlu of a separate charge of publicly ‘targeting’ individuals involved in counter-terrorism. Under Turkish procedure, the sentence will not be enforced unless it is confirmed by two higher courts. Although the term falls just below the two-year threshold that automatically strips elected officials of office, the court ordered that Article 53 of the Penal Code — which restricts civil rights — be applied. If the verdict survives appeal, İmamoğlu could be barred from holding public office during the sentence period, complicating his prospects as the leading challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential race. İmamoğlu, a senior figure in the opposition Republican People’s Party, has been in pre-trial detention since March on separate corruption allegations that he says are politically motivated. He also faces a pending appeal against a 2022 conviction and 30-month sentence for criticizing Turkey’s election board. His latest conviction comes amid a wider crackdown on CHP-run municipalities, with dozens of mayors and officials under investigation.