On Sunday, a court jailed Istanbul’s opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and several dozen co-reporters on charges of “corruption”.
What do we know about the matter here, which the Mayor’s CHP opposition party has condemned as “political coup” organized by President Recep Tayip Erdogan.
Who is Ekrem Imamoglu?
Imamoglu was elected the mayor of Istanbul in 2019 and was re -re -elected last year. Turkish’s largest city (about 16 million residents) and business centers have become the number one rival of 53 -year -old Mayor Erdogan.
Who is accused on him?
The Mayor was arrested at dawn for “corruption” on Wednesday, and “supporting a terrorist organization” due to an electoral agreement between his party and the one-Kurd group, officials accused the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) link, nominated by Ankara to a terrorist group by Ankara.
The Peniry Detention Order received by AFP on Sunday stated that “Ekrem Imamoglu is being detained to establish and lead a criminal organization; accept bribery; corruption; illegally recording personal data;
The order stated that “although there is a strong doubt of guilt to the crime of supporting an armed terrorist organization, it is not necessary at this level” to order its custody on these possible allegations “because it has already been decided to imprison him for financial offenses”.
CHP in Crosshair
Some 90 people were arrested on Wednesday, including two district mayors of Istanbul who were detained for “corruption” and “terrorism”.
Both elected officers are a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), a social-Loktantic and secular party established by Mustafa Kemal, father of the Republic of Turkey.
The CHP has 134 seats in Parliament, while compared to 272 for Erdogan’s AKP, and in the local elections in March 2024 it won 35 out of 81 provincial capitals, eleven more than AKP. It won most of the major cities such as Ankara, Rajdhani, Izamir, Antalya and Bursa’s major industrial cities.
Controversial time
Imamoglu was to be sworn in as his party candidate for the next presidential election on Sunday, was scheduled for 2028, in a primary in which he is the only candidate.
On Tuesday, a few hours before his arrest, there was a hindrance in his way before his diploma was canceled, as all presidential candidates in the Turkish Constitution require a degree of higher education.
In 2023, Imamoglu was already barred from running over a prison sentence of over two years for the “insult” of Türkiye’s High Election Committee, which he appealed.
The CHP decided to move forward with its primary Sunday and called all the Turks, not even registered with the party, to participate in the hope of converting this election into a referendum.
The biggest protest since 2013
The mayor’s arrest has led to the country’s biggest demonstrations since the 2013 Giji protests, which began at the demolition of a local park at Takasim Square, Istanbul.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul on Friday and Saturday evening, with large demonstrations in provincial cities, especially in Ankara and Ismir.
According to AFP Tally, overall, at least 55 of Türkiye’s 81 provinces or more than two-thirds of the country were held.
Analysts say the protests, under the leadership of most young people, reflect complaints that move much ahead of the arrest of Imamoglu.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
