Turkish police detain Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a likely presidential candidate

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 6:19 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Turkish authorities detained President Tayyip Erdogan's main governmental rival connected Wednesday connected charges including corruption and aiding a violent group, successful what the main absorption enactment called "a coup effort against our adjacent president."

The determination against Ekrem Imamoglu, the fashionable politician of Istanbul, appears to headdress an assertive months-long ineligible crackdown connected absorption figures crossed the country, thing that opponents have called a politicized effort to soundlessness dissent.

Erdogan's authorities denies the disapproval and says the judiciary is independent. It is meantime pressing to extremity a decades-long insurgency by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) aft its jailed person called for disarmament past month.

Imamoglu, 54, who leads Erdogan successful immoderate sentiment polls, faces 2 abstracted investigations that besides see charges of starring a transgression organization, bribery and tender rigging. TV footage showed him fixing his necktie and preparing to permission his location for detention connected Wednesday morning.

The main absorption Republican People's Party (CHP) was poised wrong days to sanction the two-term politician its authoritative statesmanlike challenger to Erdogan, who has tally Turkey for much than 2 decades.

The adjacent predetermination is acceptable for 2028, but Erdogan has reached his two-term bounds arsenic president, aft having earlier served arsenic premier minister. A 2018 referendum connected a caller constitution paved the mode for him to clasp powerfulness adjacent this long.

Social media restricted

Authorities closed respective roads astir Istanbul and banned demonstrations successful the metropolis for 4 days successful an evident effort to forestall protests pursuing the arrest. Turkey besides restricted entree to societal media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, an net observatory said.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange main scale dropped by seven per cent implicit quality of the arrest, triggering a impermanent halt to trading to forestall panic selling and stabilize the market. The Turkish lira mislaid immoderate seven per cent of its worth against the American dollar.

Erdogan faced his worst electoral decision past twelvemonth erstwhile Imamoglu's CHP swept Turkey's large cities and defeated his ruling AK Party successful erstwhile strongholds successful nationwide municipal elections.

In a video helium shared connected societal media, Imamoglu said helium would not springiness up and would proceed lasting consecutive successful the look of pressure.

"We are facing large tyranny, but I privation you to cognize that I volition not beryllium discouraged," Imamoglu said.

CHP person Ozgur Ozel called the detention a coup effort and called each absorption groups to unite against it. The enactment volition spell up and prime Imamoglu arsenic person connected Sunday irrespective, helium added.

"Turkey is going done a coup against the adjacent president. We are facing a coup effort here," helium said.

Human Rights Watch called the charges against the politician "politically motivated and bogus," and said helium indispensable beryllium released immediately.

Erdogan's bureau did not instantly remark erstwhile asked astir claims that the detention was a governmental move.

Dozens of others detained

According to a connection by the Istanbul prosecutor's bureau connected the archetypal investigation, a full of 100 radical including journalists and businessmen were taxable to detention orders, suspected of being progressive successful transgression activities related to definite tenders awarded by the municipality.

It said that a 2nd probe charged Imamoglu and six others with aiding the PKK, which is deemed a violent enactment by Turkey and its Western allies.

Last month, the PKK declared a ceasefire successful effect to jailed person Abdullah Ocalan's telephone for disarmament, marking a large measurement toward ending an insurgency that has near much than 40,000 dead, and that could person determination information and governmental ramifications.

Imamoglu's detention came a time aft Istanbul University annulled Imamoglu's degree, which if upheld would artifact him from moving successful statesmanlike elections.

In 2019, Imamoglu was forced into a repetition predetermination for politician aft the ruling enactment challenged the archetypal ballot implicit alleged irregularities, and Turkey's electoral committee nullified the results and revoked Imamoglu's mandate aft 18 days. Many voters were outraged, and helium won a 2nd vote.

The widening ineligible crackdown includes galore indictments and the appointments of respective authorities trustees to opposition-held municipal positions. As portion of it, nationalist enactment person Umit Ozdag has been detained since January.

Turkish constabulary carried retired arrests of thousands of civilian servants, politicians, subject members and adjacent of immoderate successful their ain constabulary ranks aft a 2016 coup attempted to topple Erdogan.