Turkish democracy under pressure: Erdogan's top rival sentenced to two years in prison.

A Turkish court convicted Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of threatening a chief prosecutor and sentenced him to a year and eight months in prison on Wednesday.

Imamouglu, who is the Presidential candidate for the lead opposition party CHP has already been in jail since March 23 pending trial on separate corruption charges.

Wednesday's conviction is based on comments made on Jan. 20 in which Imamouglu accused Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecutor Akin Gurlek of targeting opposition figures through alleged politically motivated investigations.

The court convicted Imamoglu of insulting and threatening Gurlek but acquitted him of the charge of publicly identifying him with the intent of making him a target. Imamoglu is expected to appeal the ruling.

Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, on Friday, where the court heard Imamoglu's defence.

Addressing the judge, the 54-year-old mayor said he was in charge because he had won three elections against the person "who thinks he owns Istanbul," a reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who launched his political career as the city's mayor in the 1990s.

The Turkish government has insisted that the courts are impartial and free of political involvement.

Ekrem Imamouglu is widely regarded as the biggest challenger to President Erdogan ahead of the 2028 general election, but as it stands, the opposition leader will not be eligible to run for office as he faces more than seven years of prison and a political ban across multiple ongoing investigations.

Imamouglu is not the only opposition figure being prosecuted. In Early July, Turkish police arrested more than 120 city hall members in Izmir, Western Türkiye, a stronghold of the CHP.

The mass arrests of opposition figures have sparked concern over Türkiye eroding democracy under President Erdogan. The country is currently classified as ' non-free' by Freedom House's Freedom in the World Index 2025.

"With the most popular rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan now in prison, the arrest of hundreds of others in investigations against the CHP, and rumors circulating that the government may seek to even take over the party, Turkey is on the cusp of a transition to a consolidated dictatorship", Former Senior Director of Research at Freedom House, Nate Schenkkan said.