Istanbul mayor appears in court amid concerns about crackdown on Turkish opposition

By Ali Kucukgocmen and Ece Toksabay

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading opposition figure and potential challenger to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, appeared in court on Friday to deny charges that he had attempted to influence the judiciary.

The case against Imamoglu is the latest in a series of legal challenges faced by opposition politicians in Turkey, where rights groups say judicial independence has eroded under Erdogan's two-decade rule.

"I did not engage in any actions targeting any individual. It is impossible for me to act in such a way. I do not accept the charges against me," Imamoglu told the court.

The probe follows Imamoglu's criticism of legal cases brought against municipalities run by the opposition, including his own Republican People's Party (CHP). His testimony related to remarks he made about a chief prosecutor and a court expert.

Hundreds of people rallied outside the Istanbul courthouse in support of Imamoglu, who was re-elected mayor of Turkey's largest city last year in a vote that saw Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) suffer its worst ever losses in municipal elections.

After giving his testimony, Imamoglu told reporters outside the courthouse that the case against him was part of a broader campaign of judicial harassment targeting opposition figures, something the AKP-led government denies.

Turkish authorities have removed a number of elected mayors from the CHP and pro-Kurdish parties in recent years.

Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey Director at Human Rights Watch, said on Friday the practice of removing mayors and appointing government trustees was undermining democracy.

"This is a major assault on the rights of voters to elect their chosen representatives and a violation of the right to free and fair elections," Sinclair-Webb told Reuters.

"At a time when the government is talking about resolving the Kurdish conflict, it is dismaying and bewildering to see these crackdown measures continue against democratically elected officials. This practice flies in the face of any positive solution to the conflict," she added.

The Turkish government has defended past removals of mayors, saying they were linked to terrorism-related investigations.

Critics argue that such measures are politically motivated and designed to weaken opposition parties ahead of future elections.

(Additional reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara, Editing by Gareth Jones)