Istanbul mayor – a key Erdogan rival – arrested over alleged corruption
Ekrem Imamoglu and around 100 others were held as part of a crackdown on the opposition.
Turkish police have arrested Istanbul’s mayor – a popular opposition leader and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – and several other prominent figures as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links.
The arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu marks a dramatic escalation in an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkey.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued detention warrants for Imamoglu and around 100 other people. Among those detained was Imamoglu’s close aide, Murat Ongun.
Authorities also closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest.
NTV television reported that two Istanbul district mayors were among those detained.
Critics say the crackdown follows significant losses by Mr Erdogan’s ruling party in local elections last year amid growing calls for early national elections.
Government officials insist that the courts operate independently and reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.
Germany has criticised the arrests, with foreign ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer describing them as “a serious setback for democracy”.
People gathered later on Wednesday near Istanbul’s police headquarters, carrying posters of the mayor and banners with his photo around their shoulders. Others chanted slogans and raised their fists in the air as riot police cordoned off the facility.
The arrest came during a search of Imamoglu’s home, but it was not immediately clear if police confiscated anything at the site.
The mayor’s wife, Dilek Imamoglu, told the Now television station that police arrived at their residence before dawn and that the mayor was taken at around 7.30am local time (4.30am GMT).
The Istanbul Stock Exchange’s main index dropped by 7% over news of the mayor’s arrest, triggering a temporary halt to trading to prevent panic selling and stabilise the market.
A day earlier, a university in Istanbul invalidated Imamoglu’s diploma, effectively disqualifying the popular opposition figure from running in the next presidential race. Having a university degree is a requisite for running in elections under Turkish law.
The mayor’s party – the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP – was to hold a primary on Sunday where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen for its candidate in future presidential elections. Turkey’s next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, but early elections are likely.
With all the arrests on Wednesday, it is unlikely that vote would be held.
“We are facing great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” Imamoglu said earlier in he day in a video message posted on social media. He accused the government of “usurping the will” of the people.
In a social media post on English, Imamoglu said: “The will of the people cannot be silenced through intimidation or unlawful acts. I stand resolute, entrusting myself not only to the 16 million residents of Istanbul but to the 86 million citizens of (Turkey.)”
CHP’s chairman, Ozgur Ozel, denounced Imamoglu’s detention as a “coup”.
“Currently, there is a power in place to prevent the nation from determining the next president,” he said. “We are facing an attempted coup against our next president.”
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party condemned the detentions and called for the immediate release of all taken into custody.
