Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and jailed pending a trial on corruption charges – he is Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival
Protestors in Turkey have been hit with tear gas and rubber bullets as they defy a ban on gathering and take to the streets en masse. The unrest was triggered on Sunday when Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and jailed pending a trial on corruption charges.
Mr Imamoglu is Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival. And in an apparent escalation of the government’s response to the growing protests, at least eight reporters and photojournalists were detained by Turkish authorities this morning. The reporters were dragged from their homes, the Disk-Basin-Is media workers’ union has said. It took to the social media platform X, calling for their immediate release and saying: “You cannot hide the truth by silencing journalists!”
The group described the arrests as an “attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth”. The mayor’s imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major challenger to Erdogan from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.
Government officials strongly reject the accusations and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently. Crowds gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall where police were seen using pepper spray and firing rubber bullets into people. The huge demonstrations have continued despite a ban on gatherings in Istanbul imposed this week.
Mr Imamoglu was jailed on suspicion of running a criminal organisation, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging — accusations he has denied. A request for him to be imprisoned on terror-related charges was rejected although he still faces prosecution.
The Interior Ministry later announced that Mr Imamoglu had been suspended from duty as a “temporary measure.” The municipality had previously appointed an acting mayor from its governing council.
The politician was taken to Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, as more than 1.7 million members of his opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, held a primary election endorsing him as its presidential candidate. Millions of non-members also cast votes in a “solidarity ballot,” the party said.
Alongside Mr Imamoglu, 47 other people were also jailed pending trial including a key aide and two district mayors from Istanbul, one of whom was replaced with a government appointee. A further 44 suspects were released under judicial control.
Mr Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, in a major blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. Erdogan’s party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.
The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Mr Imamoglu also won. The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which the CHP made significant gains against Erdogan’s governing party.
