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The court session in the case against the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, accused of insulting an official because of his speech, was postponed until November 11 in order to hear witnesses, reported the electronic publication of the Turkish city "Birgun", quoted by BTA.

This was decided at today's session of the court in Istanbul, before which a ban on gatherings, statements to the media and demonstrations was imposed at the request of the police in the Kartal district and with the approval of the local district administration.

The indictment calls for Imamoglu to be imprisoned for a term of 1 year, 3 months and 15 days to 4 years and 1 month and to be deprived of his right to vote in elections and be elected for "publicly insulting public officials , working in committees, due to the fulfillment of their official duties".

Imamoglu, a member of the opposition People's Republican Party (PPP), has been indicted over a speech he made in connection with the rerun of local elections in 2019. Imamoglu narrowly won those elections over his rival from the ruling Justice and Development Party ( AKP) and after those results were annulled, won the re-vote with more support.

In his speech, Imamoglu said: "Those who canceled the March 31 elections are fools."

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The Istanbul Municipality's press service explained that he responded in this way to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, who, according to the municipality, called Imamoğlu a fool.

It was also stated that Imamoglu did not criticize the High Electoral Commission, but the politicians who caused the annulment of the vote.

The press office of the municipality stated some time ago that the judicial system is being used as a weapon: "(The aim is) to create a political ban against Imamoglu with a sentence and to eliminate him from the upcoming elections", which should take place in June next year.

Turkey

Ekrem Imamoglu