Police in Türkiye arrested on Wednesday the mayor of Istanbul, a popular opposition leader and the key rival of President Rece Tayyip Erdogan, as part of the investigations on alleged corruption and terrorist links. It was a dramatic escalation in a ongoing government repression against opposition and dissident voices in Türkiye.
The Anadolu state agency said prosecutors issued arrest orders for the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu and another 100 people. Among the detainees was the nearby assistant of Imamoglu, Murat Ongun.
The authorities also closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to avoid protests after arrest.
Critics say that repression follows significant losses of the Erdogan ruling party in local elections last year amid growing calls for the first national elections. Government officials insist that the courts operate independently and reject the claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.
The arrest occurred during a search in the house of Imamoglu, but it was not clear immediately if the police confiscated something on the site.
The mayor’s wife, Dilek Imamoglu, told the private television station now that the police reached their residence before dawn and that the mayor was taken around 7:30 am local time (11:30 pm et).
Silence to the opposition
A day before, a university in Istanbul invalidated the imamoglu diploma, effectively disqualifying that the popular opposition figure is executed in the next presidential race. Having a university degree is a requirement to run in elections under Turkish law.
The mayor’s party, the main Republican Popular Party of the opposition, or CHP, was to celebrate a primary on Sunday where Imamoglu was elected to his candidate in future presidential elections. The next presidential vote of Türkiye is scheduled for 2028, but it is likely that the early elections.
With all arrests on Wednesday, it was unlikely that votes were held.
“We face great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” said Imamoglu early in the day in a video message posted on social networks. He accused the government of “usurping the will” of the people.
In a publication of social networks about English, Imamoglu said: “The will of people cannot be silenced through intimidation or illegal acts.
The president of CHP, Ozgur Ozel, denounced the arrest of Imamoglu as a “blow.”
“Currently, there is a power to prevent the nation from determining the next president,” he said. “We face an attempted coup against our next president.”
The Party of Equality and Democracy of the Pro Kurds of Türkiye condemned the arrests and requested the immediate liberation of all detainees.
“The raid of the dawn and the arrest of the mayor of the largest city in the country for political reasons is a misfortune that will not be forgotten for centuries.
While he was being arrested, Ongun, the Imamoglu assistant, published in X about his arrest, although at that time he did not seem to know that the mayor was also being arrested.
“They think they can silence us and prevent us from defending and supporting Ekrem Imamoglu,” said Ongun. “Trust Ekrem imamoglu the Turkish nation.
Separately, the Police also arrested an outstanding investigation journalist, Ismail Saymaz, to interrogate him, the HALK TV aligned by the opposition reported.
Meanwhile, the Netblocks.org Internet Access Defense Group reported Wednesday that access has been restricted in Türkiye to popular social media platforms.
When annulling the Imamoglu Diploma, the University of Istanbul cited alleged irregularities in its 1990 transfer of a private university in northern Cyprus to its faculty of business administration. Imamoglu said it would challenge the decision.
Legal obstacles
The opposition leader faces multiple demands, including accusations of trying to influence a judicial expert investigating municipalities led by the opposition. Cases could result in prison sentences and a political prohibition.
Imamoglu is also appealing a 2022 sentence for insulting the members of the Supreme Electoral Council of Türkiye, a case that could result in a political prohibition.
He was elected mayor of the largest city in Turkey in March 2019 in a historic coup to Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party of the President, who had controlled Istanbul for a quarter of a century. The party pressed to cancel the results of the municipal elections in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.
The challenge resulted in a repetition of the elections a few months later, which Imamogl also won. The mayor held his seat after the local elections last year, during which his party obtained significant profits against the Rector of Erdogan.
