Before his arrest, Imamoglu was seen as the only politician capable of defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections

Before his arrest, Imamoglu was seen as the only politician capable of defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections

Istanbul's jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu goes on trial Monday in a sprawling corruption case critics say is a politically motivated bid to scupper his chances of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Arrested last year on March 19 and jailed ever since, Imamoglu is due to appear at Silivri court at 10:00 am (0700 GMT) for the opening of a sweeping graft case in which prosecutors want him jailed for 2,430 years. 

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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