Turkish court rejects appeal for release of Istanbul mayor

An Istanbul court rejected a plea for the release of former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested on charges of corruption.

On Monday, the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance ruled to reject the appeals made by Imamoglu’s lawyers, deciding that his detention would continue, Anadolu reported.

Lawyers representing the mayor had argued that the investigation into Imamoglu was allegedly conducted in violation of legal standards. They are expected to renew the appeals request.

Imamoglu was detained on March 19 and formally jailed on corruption charges on March 23. The court scheduled the next hearing in the case for June 16.