A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu to two years and seven months in prison for insulting members of Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council.
Imamoglu is a key opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who recently hinted that he would run for reelection next year for the last time.
The court also imposed a politicial ban on Imamoglu that could lead to him being removed from office and would be even more likely to rule him out from standing in next year's presidential election, assuming the verdict stands.
What was the case against Imamoglu?
Imamoglu narrowly won local elections in 2019. His victory, which was confirmed after a rerun, ended a a 25-year domination by Erdogan's conservative allies in Istanbul.
He was tried over a 2019 speech in which he called officials who annulled the first round of election "fools."
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu publicly accused Imamoglu of "defaming" the election officials, DW reports.
