A court formally arrested and charged the mayor of Istanbul - a key rival to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan - early on Sunday and ordered him to be jailed pending the outcome of a trial on corruption charges.
Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained following a raid on his residence earlier this week, sparking the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade.
It also deepened concerns over democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.
Mr Imamoglu’s imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a big contender from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.
Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently.
The formal arrest came as his opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Mr Imamoglu as its presidential candidate despite the arrest.
The party has also set up symbolic ballot boxes nationwide – called “solidarity boxes” – to allow people who are not party members to express their support for the mayor.
Mayor of Ankara Mansur Yavas, a fellow member of Mr Imamoglu’s CHP, criticised the lack of confidentiality in the proceedings, telling reporters: “Honestly, we are embarrassed in the name of our legal system.
“We learned from television pundits about the allegations that even lawyers did not have access to, showing how politically motivated this whole ordeal has been,” he said.
The mayor’s arrest marks an escalation of a Government crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices.
Before his detention, Mr Imamoglu had already faced multiple criminal cases that could result in prison sentences and a political ban.
He was also appealing a 2022 conviction for insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Election Council.
Earlier in the week, a university nullified his diploma, citing alleged irregularities in his transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus some 30 years ago.
The decision effectively bars him from running for president, since the position requires candidates to be university graduates.
Mr Imamoglu vowed to challenge the decision.
He was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, in a big blow to Mr Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for 25 years.
Mr Erdogan’s party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities. The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Mr Imamoglu also won.
The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which the CHP made significant gains against Mr Erdogan’s governing party.
– AP
