A message with clear political barbs aimed at the Erdogan regime was sent from Marmara prison by Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, accusing the Turkish government of staging a “coup against democracy.” In an op-ed for French newspaper Le Monde, titled “I refuse to believe that democracy, justice and freedom are no longer relevant issues,” Imamoglu describes his case as a “Kafkaesque trial,” the result of a politically motivated mechanism aimed at his destruction.
Writing from his cell, he states:
“From a solitary 12-square-meter cell, imprisoned in a Kafkaesque trial, I am accused of falsifying a university degree. Yet the indictment doesn’t even specify which document was supposedly altered.”
The Turkish politician explains that Istanbul University revoked his degree in March 2025, despite his regular graduation in 1994 from the Business Administration School. As he maintains, this decision has exclusively political motives, since without a university degree he cannot run for President in 2028.
“My real crimes, in the eyes of power, are my three electoral victories in Istanbul municipality,” he writes characteristically. “Erdogan knows that whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey.”
Imamoglu compares his situation to the protagonist of Kafka’s “The Trial,” saying that, like him, he remains ignorant of the “crime” he is accused of committing.
“A century later, they are trying again to convince us that democracy, justice and freedom are outdated concepts. I refuse to accept this,” he concludes.
Imamoglu’s Le Monde article comes during a period of intense political polarization in Turkey, as the opposition speaks of a systematic silencing of Istanbul’s mayor, who is considered Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strongest challenger in upcoming elections.
