Turkish authorities detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu – a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – on Wednesday as part of corruption and terrorism investigations.
Detention orders were also issued for around 100 others connected to the mayor, including his press adviser Murat Ongun, according to state-run news agency Anadolu Agency.
The move came just days before the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was scheduled to hold a primary election where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as its presidential candidate.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called the detention “a coup attempt against our next president.”
Video from CNN Turk showed police wearing riot gear and dozens of security vehicles outside Imamoglu’s home.
“I am saddened to say, a handful of people who are trying to steal the will of the people, have sent the dear police, the security forces implicating them in this wrongful doing,” Imamoglu said in a video posted to X on Wednesday as he got dressed in what appeared to be a closet.
“Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door my house — the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul.”
Critics denounced the detentions as politically motivated and part of an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition following Erdogan’s major defeat in local and mayoral elections last year.
“Making decisions on behalf of the people, using force to replace the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup. There is currently a force in place to prevent the nation from determining the next president,” Ozel said in a post on X.
Following Imamoglu’s detention, Istanbul’s governorship suspended the right to demonstrate in the city until March 23 “to maintain public order.” It also announced the closure of some metro stops and roads in downtown Istanbul.
According to internet watchdog NetBlocks, access to X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok has been restricted in the country.
Meanwhile, the mayor’s detention sent shockwaves through Turkey’s financial markets, deepening investor fears and triggering sharp losses in the currency and stock market.
The Turkish lira plunged more than 10%, trading above 40 against the dollar – its weakest level on record – as Imamoglu’s detention spooked investors.
Stock trading in Turkey got off to a rough start, as a sharp drop in the main BIST 100 index triggered a temporary trading halt. By 6:30 a.m. ET, the index had fallen 6.7% for the day.
‘A huge slander’
Imamoglu and around 100 others linked to him are accused of being members of a criminal organization, extortion, bribery and aggravated fraud, according to a statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Andadolu reported.
Imamoglu is also under investigation for allegedly aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), which Turkey considers to be terrorist organizations, Anadolu said, citing the prosecutor’s office.
Dilek Imamoglu, wife of the detained mayor, said of the accusations against her husband: “One can only laugh at such a thing.”
“Such a thing is of course impossible,” she said, according to Reuters. “It is completely a huge slander. Everything will come out in the open anyway.”
The move to detain the mayor of Turkey’s largest and most populous city, a key political battleground, comes after Istanbul University said on Tuesday it had annulled Imamoglu’s degree over irregularities, dealing a blow to the opposition and dashing the mayor’s presidential ambitions.
Without a university degree, Imamoglu would be disqualified from running for president.
Imamoglu said the university’s decision was illegal and outside its jurisdiction, and that he would launch a legal challenge. “The decision of the Istanbul University Board of Directors is UNLAWFUL” he said. “The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near.”
Imamoglu was elected mayor in 2019 and again in 2024. The next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, but some analysts say Erdogan could call for early elections which would allow him to bypass term limits.
“We are up against a huge bullying. But I will not back down,” the mayor said in his video message.-BBC
