A Turkish court sentenced Istanbul's charismatic mayor to prison Wednesday over a remark he made after defeating an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2019 local elections.
Though Ekrem Imamoglu will not serve time in prison as the sentence is shorter than five years, it effectively bars him from political office for the duration of his sentence of two years, seven months and 15 days and forces him to leave his post as mayor of Istanbul. But the ruling will have to be upheld on appeal before it is enforced.
