Both the prosecution and the defence in the case surrounding Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s studies in Cyprus made statements on Tuesday, with the prosecution asserting that the university in the north at which Imamoglu had studied was “unrecognised”, and the defence saying the decision not to recognise it was taken after he had left and transferred to Turkey.

The prosecution unveiled a report compiled by Turkey’s higher education council (Yok), which explained that while Imamoglu was studying in Cyprus, between 1988 and 1990, Kyrenia’s Girne American University, was an affiliate of the United States’ Southeastern University.

At the time, Yok said, the university was known as the University College of Northern Cyprus.

According to Yok, the Girne American University’s records state that Imamoglu registered at the university’s English-language business administration department on September 5, 1988, before applying to transfer to the Istanbul University’s English-language business administration department on September 29, 1990.

Two days later, on October 1, 1990, he cancelled his registration in Kyrenia and continued his studies in Istanbul.

Yok then referred to a decision its executive board had taken on November 18, 1991, stating that while Southeastern University was recognised, it was “not possible” to recognise its affiliate campus in Kyrenia.

Later in the day, Imamoglu’s lawyers called a press conference to profess their client’s innocence, with lawyer Mehmet Pehlivanli pointing out that the executive board decision was made 14 months after Imamoglu had transferred to Istanbul, and that therefore his transfer could not be deemed illegal based on a ruling which was made after the fact.

“This is called the non-retroactivity principle, and it is out of the question to make an assessment that is contrary to this universal legal principle. Imamoglu’s application was sent in August 1990. In other words, it was made a year and a half before this Yok decision, which is being abused,” he said.

He went on to say that Yok recognition of foreign university courses only became a legal standard for university student transfers in Turkey following the publication of a new regulation in Turkey’s official government gazette in 1996.

“In other words, the recognition and equivalence rule Yok has was introduced exactly six years after Imamoglu’s transfer. It is not possible to explain the retroactive application of a rule introduced six years later within the law. I think the explanation for this is a matter of politics,” he said.

The accusations come after Imamoglu had declared his intention to run to be Turkey’s next president, and he is the clear frontrunner to be his party’s candidate.

He became Istanbul mayor in 2019, pulling off a shock victory over AK Party candidate and former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, before renewing his mandate last year with a crushing victory.