Turkish court throws out case aiming to oust opposition leader

Local stock market boosted after closing of case against Ozgur Ozel; new espionage probe opened against Istanbul mayor Imamoglu, an Erdogan rival imprisoned since March

A Turkish court on Friday dismissed a case seeking to oust the main opposition party’s leader and annul its 2023 congress, a decision that relieves some pressure on President Tayyip Erdogan’s rivals after an unprecedented year-long legal crackdown.

The relief appeared short-lived, however, as Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s chief political rival, was announced to be the subject of a new espionage probe hours later.

The case in Ankara against the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and its chairman, Ozgur Ozel, was seen as a test of the country’s shaky balance between democracy and autocracy.

The court ruled that the case, which claimed irregularities in the 2023 CHP congress, no longer had any substance. The court referred to the party having re-elected Ozel as leader in an extraordinary congress last month.

The verdict boosted Turkish assets, which had crashed in March when a separate court in Istanbul jailed pending trial Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the party’s presidential candidate and Erdogan’s chief political rival.

The main Borsa Istanbul index XU100 was up more than 4 percent after the verdict, and the lira strengthened against the dollar.

Imamoglu hit with new charge of espionage

As Ozel got off the hook, Istanbul prosecutors opened a new investigation into Imamoglu on charges of espionage, state news agency Anadolu said on Friday.

The latest investigation also targeted Necati Ozkan, Imamoglu’s campaign manager during the 2019 and 2024 local elections, who was arrested at the same time as the mayor in March and remains behind bars.

The investigation also named Merdan Yanardag, editor-in-chief of Tele1, a pro-opposition TV channel, who was arrested at his home on Friday, Turkey’s journalists’ union and the MLSA media rights group said.

“Tele1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag has been detained on charges of espionage in yet another dawn operation. They cannot call him a spy, nor can espionage come from true journalism! He must be released immediately,” the union wrote on X.

“Searches were conducted at the home and office of TELE 1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag after he was detained in the morning on allegations of espionage,” MLSA posted on X.

The investigation began in July with the arrest of a Turkish businessman, Huseyin Gun, on suspicion of spying for foreign states.

Prosecutors accused him and Ozkan of allegedly sharing confidential electoral data with foreign intelligence services during the 2019 local election campaign.

Ozel in spotlight after Istanbul mayor’s arrest

Ozel, 51, the CHP’s combative and hoarse-voiced leader, has risen to prominence since Imamoglu’s arrest, leading dozens of big anti-government street rallies.

Had the court ruled to oust Ozel, who was first elected leader at that 2023 congress, it could have thrown the opposition into further disarray and infighting and boosted Erdogan’s chances of extending his 22-year rule of the big NATO member country and major emerging market economy.

The centrist CHP, which denied the charges against it, is level with Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted, conservative AK party (AKP) in polls.

The next presidential election is set for 2028, but would need to come earlier if Erdogan aims to run again, given that he faces a term limit.

Separately, hundreds of CHP members and elected leaders, including Imamoglu, face an array of corruption-related charges in a broader, ongoing crackdown that it calls politicized and anti-democratic.

Erdogan’s government rejects this, saying the judiciary is independent.