Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu faces a major corruption trial that critics say targets Turkey’s opposition and threatens democracy. On Monday, Imamoglu appears in court with more than 400 other defendants. Prosecutors are accusing them of bid-rigging and payoffs linked to Istanbul’s municipal government. Imamoglu has been jailed for nearly a year since his arrest on March 19 last year, which triggered weeks of protests. He faces 142 charges and an indictment that claims an organized scheme funded his political rise. Human rights groups have criticized the judicial process. The government says courts act independently.
