Turkish police have arrested the mayor of Istanbul, detaining the primary challenger to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in dawn raids that also ensnared 100 politicians, businesspeople and municipal officials accused of corruption and links to terror groups.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor, released a video statement as police gathered outside his residence in Istanbul, speaking to the camera as he put on a shirt and tie before his arrest. In a caption accompanying the video posted to social media, he wrote: “This is a blow to the will of the people.”
“Hundreds of police officers have arrived at my door. I entrust myself to the people. The police are raiding my home, knocking on my door,” he said.
“I stand resolute, entrusting myself not only to the 16 million residents of Istanbul but to the 86 million citizens of Turkey, and all who uphold democracy and justice worldwide,” he later added. “I stand firm in my fight for fundamental rights and freedoms.”
The Istanbul mayor was detained along with about 100 others, including his chief spokesperson, Murat Ongun, the head of the İmamoğlu construction firm, Tuncay Yılmaz, and the head of the Istanbul municipality sports club, Fatih Keleş, all accused of corruption, embezzlement and bribery.
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office added that İmamoğlu was charged as “the leader of a criminal organisation” accused of extortion, fraud and corruption.
Prosecutors also accused İmamoğlu and at least six others including local officials of “aiding a terrorist organisation” in reference to the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) armed group. The Istanbul prosecutor accused them of collaborating with a leftwing political coalition in the run-up to local elections after losses for Erdoğan’s party last year, thereby allegedly aiding the PKK. The jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, announced late last month that the group would disarm and dissolve.
Long seen as the only candidate capable of presenting a serious challenge to Erdoğan’s 22 years in power, İmamoğlu had been taking part in primaries for the Republican People’s party (CHP) to choose the opposition’s candidate for the next presidential election. He was widely tipped to be declared as the opposition’s candidate in a vote expected this weekend.
The next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, although observers anticipate early elections.
İmamoğlu had previously faced a political ban after an Istanbul court convicted him of insulting election officials in 2022, charges that he appealed.
The night before hundreds of police arrived at his residence to arrest him, Istanbul University declared that it had annulled his diploma – effectively barring him from running for the presidency, as a university degree is a pre-requisite. İmamoğlu denounced the decision as “legally baseless”.
Turkish police were out in force across Istanbul on Wednesday amid a four-day ban on public protests and meetings following İmamoğlu’s arrest, with main thoroughfares closed and some metro stations shuttered. A boulevard around the police station where İmamoğlu was taken into custody was locked down.
Despite the restrictions, thousands of students gathered to protest on the campus of Istanbul University before some clashed with riot police. Crowds of students then marched towards the mayoral headquarters, while a major union called on its members to take to the streets near the police station where the mayor was detained.
Internet access across Turkey was limited, while the internet freedom organisation Netblocks noted restricted access to social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok after the mayor’s detention.
The head of the CHP, Özgür Özel, denounced İmamoğlu’s arrest as “a coup”. “There is currently a force in place to prevent the nation from determining the next president,” he said in a post on X. “We are faced with a coup attempt against our next president.”
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The justice minister, Yılmaz Tunç, dismissed any suggestion that the wave of arrests targeting İmamoğlu and 105 others was politically motivated.
“The rule of law is essential,” he said in a statement. “It is utterly dangerous and wrong to mischaracterise the investigations conducted by the independent and impartial judiciary or describe them using expressions such as coup d’état.”
Asked by reporters whether İmamoğlu’s arrest might be politically motivated, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said: “From the information we have, we certainly hope that the normal rules for due process will be followed and that this will go in accordance with the laws of Turkey.”
The Istanbul mayor swept to power on a wave of popular support in 2019, before his initial victory was annulled by election officials after pressure from Erdoğan’s party. İmamoğlu won his seat again after a re-run of the vote, and secured a second term with a wide margin in local elections that marked a high point of opposition support last year.
Turkish authorities have arrested hundreds in a series of dawn raids in recent months, detaining politicians with the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality Democracy (DEM) party as well as journalists and academics. Authorities also unseated pro-Kurdish mayors from their posts in south-eastern cities, whittling away at the opposition’s victory last year, often replacing them with trustees loyal to the government.
Özel travelled to Istanbul and addressed a crowd that had gathered in front of Istanbul city hall, thanking the students and youth “who ignored the police barricades” and walked to city hall to protest.
In reference to Erdoğan’s earliest foray into politics as the mayor of Istanbul in the late 1990s, Özel added: “He who wins Istanbul wins Turkey. He who loses Istanbul loses Turkey.”
