ISTANBUL — Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul’s mayor — a well-liked opposition chief and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as a part of an investigation into alleged corruption and terror hyperlinks, studies mentioned. It was a dramatic escalation in an ongoing authorities crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices.
The state-run Anadolu Company mentioned prosecutors issued detention warrants for the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, and a few 100 different folks. Amongst these detained was Imamoglu’s shut help, Murat Ongun.
Authorities additionally closed a number of roads round Istanbul and banned demonstrations within the metropolis for 4 days in an obvious effort to stop protests following the arrest.
Critics say the crackdown follows important losses by Erdogan’s ruling occasion in native elections in March amid rising requires early nationwide elections. Authorities officers insist that the courts function independently and reject claims that authorized actions towards opposition figures are politically motivated.
The arrest got here throughout a search of Imamoglu’s dwelling, nevertheless it was not instantly clear if police confiscated something on the website.
A day earlier, a university invalidated Imamoglu’s diploma, successfully disqualifying the favored opposition determine from working within the subsequent presidential race. Having a college diploma is a requisite for working in elections underneath Turkish legislation.
The mayor’s occasion — the principle opposition Republican Folks’s Occasion, or CHP — was to carry a main on Sunday the place Imamoglu was anticipated to be chosen for its candidate in future presidential elections. Turkey’s subsequent presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, however early elections are probably.
With all of the arrests on Wednesday, it was unlikely that vote can be held.
“We face nice tyranny, however I would like you to know that I cannot be discouraged,” Imamoglu mentioned earlier in he day in a video message posted on social media. He accused the federal government of “usurping the desire” of the folks.
CHP’s chairman, Ozgur Ozel, denounced Imamoglu’s detention as a “coup.”
“Presently, there’s a energy in place to stop the nation from figuring out the subsequent president,” he mentioned. “We face an tried coup towards our subsequent president.”
As he was being arrested, Ongun, Imamoglu’s aide, posted on X about his detention, although he on the time didn’t seem to know that the mayor was additionally being taken into custody.
“They assume they will silence us and forestall us from defending and supporting Ekrem Imamoglu,” Ongun mentioned. “I entrust Ekrem Imamoglu to the Turkish nation. Shield, watch over and help him. They can’t be defeat the nation.”
Individually, police additionally detained a distinguished investigative journalist, Ismail Saymaz, for questioning, the opposition-aligned Halk TV reported.
In the meantime, internet-access advocacy group netblocks.org reported on Wednesday that access has been restricted in Turkey to popular social media platforms.
In nullifying Imamoglu’s diploma, Istanbul College cited alleged irregularities in his 1990 switch from a non-public college in northern Cyprus to its School of Enterprise Administration. Imamoglu mentioned he would problem the choice.
The opposition chief faces a number of lawsuits, together with allegations of making an attempt to affect a judicial skilled investigating opposition-led municipalities. The instances may end in jail sentences and a political ban.
Imamoglu can be interesting a 2022 conviction of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case that might end in a political ban.
He was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest metropolis in March 2019 in a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Growth Occasion, which had managed Istanbul for a quarter-century. The occasion pushed to void the municipal election leads to the town of 16 million, alleging irregularities.
The problem resulted in a repeat of the election a number of months later, which Imamoglu additionally gained. The mayor retained his seat following native elections final 12 months, throughout which his occasion made important positive factors towards Erdogan’s governing occasion.
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Related Press author Lorian Belanger in Bangkok contributed to this report.
