The Istanbul court officially arrested the city's mayor Ekrem Imamolu on corruption charges and sent him to pre-trial detention on the day he was appointed by the party to run for president.
Turkey's biggest city mayor and presidential rival, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with dozens of staff and local government officials, has been jailed for leading criminal organization, bribery, misconduct and corruption.
Imamol and at least four people faced another charge accusing them of “supporting armed terrorist groups” of working with the left-wing political coalition before last local elections.
Protesters, which were in large numbers near Istanbul's city hall, were angry at the decision to formally arrest Imamol and faced police scattered around the crowd. As their numbers swelled, protesters began clashing more and more with police who fired tear gas. In Izmir, the video showed police were trying to disperse the protest using armored water cannon trucks.
Despite “strong suspicions about the crime,” the prosecutors determined that Imamoll's detention on a charge of corruption alone would be sufficient and that he chose not to the mayor to detain the other three on terrorist charges. The decision is expected to allow Turkey's biggest opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), to choose a candidate who controls Istanbul city, rather than a state that chooses a caretaker.
The Turkish Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order to inaugurate Imamomor and two mayors of Istanbul district, and appointed a trustee to replace one of the neighbours, who is considered the bedrock of opposition support.
Imamol denied the charges against him, telling investigators during questioning that his detention “not only violated Turkey's international reputation, but also shattered the people's trust in the justice and economy.”
His chief spokesman, Murat Ongun, was in custody, but was posted to X.
The detention of Mayor of Istanbul in the dawn attack earlier this week sparked massive protests across Turkey, bringing tens of thousands of people on the streets every night, often clashing with police. The day after the announcement that 343 people had been arrested in protest, Interior Minister Ali Yarikaya announced that a further 323 people were detained overnight as part of an investigation into Istanbul.
Turkish officials, along with local government officials, businessmen and dozens of other members of the CHP, rejected the proposal that the drastic crackdown on Imamoal was politically motivated. This did little to quell the sentiment of anti-government, and demonstrators filled university campuses, public squares and surrounded by Istanbul city hall every night to refuse a protest ban.
The growing demonstrations sparked intense criticism from Erdogan.
Posting on X, he wrote:
Imamol was jailed in pre-trial custody the same day that 1.5 million CHP voted to officially support his presidential candidacy. Mayor of Istanbul was the party's only presidential candidate, turning the vote into a symbolic support show, especially after the CHP offered non-members a “solidarity vote” in the primary election.
The suffering mayor has issued a message from the high security facility he is currently holding. “15 million of our citizens voted,” he said. “Their message to Erdogan was clear: “As ample enough.”
He added: “That ballot box will come and the country will deliver a slap that this government will never forget.”
Imamol has long been seen as the only challenger who can defeat Erdogan in the ballot box. The presidential election in Türkiye is scheduled for 2028, but early voting is expected.
CHP leader ÖzgurÖzel has accused Erdogan and his government of detaining Imamoll for fear of election loss. Istanbul University stripped Imamol of his university diploma before his arrest, preventing him from running for president as a degree is a prerequisite.
“Ekrem Imamor's only crime leads in the polls,” Özel told a crowd gathering outside Istanbul City Hall earlier this week. He spoke to reporters on Sunday, he said: “Ekrem Imamor is currently on his path to prison, but he is also on his path to president.
Many of those who took him to the streets after Imamol's arrest said his detention facilitated their decision to appear in the ballot box, even if the vote was symbolic. The CHP said it extended its voting time to keep up with demand amid an image of a massive crowd at Kadikoy's Istanbul base and a line that stretches around the block outside the Chashri opposition polls.
“This is a way of showing us our strength and showing us that we are becoming stronger,” said the protester who named her as Debrim.
The CHP also allows non-party members to participate in major votes. “We previously expected high voter turnout, but now we think it's going to be even bigger,” Debrim said.
Mansur Yavaş, a key member of the CHP of Mayor Ankara, told reporters:
“We learned from television experts about allegations that even lawyers could not access it, and showed how the whole ordeal was politically motivated,” he said.
