Istanbul: hundreds defy bans, demonstrate against İmamoğlu's arrest
Police impose restrictions on Turkey’s business capital, including road blocks and slow Internet. Members of the country’s main opposition party take to streets, while CHP party leader confirms that the mayor will be its candidate in the next presidential election. So far, the President’s Office has not released any statement. Human rights groups call the charges politically motivated.
Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Turkish police arrested the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu and about a hundred civil servants and members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in an operation that saw the Internet, messaging apps and social media either blocked or slowed down.
The authorities have imposed military-style restrictions on Istanbul, Turkey’s business capital, for four days, including a ban on demonstrations, closing several roads around Istanbul, and cancelling some metro lines.
Those swept up in the crackdown include İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy General Secretary Mahir Polat, Reform Institute President Mehmet Ali Çalışkan, and Spectrum House polling company owner Azad Barış.
Despite this, scores of people are defying the bans and are protesting near police headquarters.
For İmamoğlu’s Republican People’s Party, which planned to pick him as its candidate in the next presidential election, this is a “coup attempt” against “the next president”.
Overnight, in a surprise operation, hundreds of agents surrounded İmamoğlu's house in Sarıyer district to arrest him along with several CHP party officials and party members opposed to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
According to a statement by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Istanbul’s mayor is under two separate investigations, one for “aiding a terrorist organisation,” and the other for "forming and leading a criminal organisation” involved in “bribery”, and “aggravated fraud”.
Earlier yesterday, Istanbul University revoked İmamoğlu's university degree alleging irregularities, a claim President Recep Erdoğan’s main rival rejects. This cast an ever-growing shadow on the presidential race because such a degree is a mandatory to run for president.
Defying bans and controls, more than a hundred people gathered near the police headquarters to protest against the arrest of Erdoğan's main challenger, calling the move a “coup” against democracy.
From outside the facility where the mayor is being held, supporters sang and chanted slogans.
“They are conducting a coup right now against İmamoğlu, who beat Erdogan four times at the ballot box since 2019 with the will of the nation," said Bülent Gülten, a protester.
The reference is to the municipal elections of 2019 and 2024, when İmamoğlu's CHP defeated the president's candidates by conquering most of Turkey’s major cities, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
“Today, the Turkish nation will once again unite against those who betray democracy and the national will. Ekrem İmamoğlu is growing and gaining strength in the eyes of the people,” he added.
For their part, security forces blocked the roads leading to police headquarters, with anti-riot vehicles and water cannons.
“We came here to support the mayor. They arrested him unjustly. So we are here to support him,” said Murat Sapankaya, a municipal worker attending the protest.
In recent months, İmamoğlu, 54, upped his criticism of Erdoğan and his government, causing a wave of lawsuits and indictments, making him an habitué of courtrooms.
The controversy over the mayor’s university degree fits a pattern. Without it, no one can run for the highest office since the latter requires a certain level of formal education.
Yet, the pressures have not wakened İmamoğlu’s resolve. The CHP leader reiterated that he would continue to fight for the country and its people.
“We actually predicted that İmamoğlu would soon go through such a detention process. We are all here until the decision is changed and justice is served," said Yilmaz Arslan, another protester, who also joined the unplanned protest in favour of the Turkish opposition leader.
In a video posted on social media as he got ready to leave in police custody, İmamoğlu said that he would not give up and would resist the pressure.
Erdoğan's office has not issued any statement regarding the detention or the political implications of the move.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the charges against the mayor politically motivated and false, calling for his immediate release.
Meanwhile, the Turkish lira plunged 12 per cent to an all-time low of 42 to the US dollar, reflecting market concern over the erosion of the rule of law in a NATO member country, which Erdoğan has ruled for 22 years, first as prime minister and then president.
CHP leader Özgür Özel called on the opposition to unite, expressing his full confidence in İmamoğlu and confirming that he will be the party’s candidate in the next presidential election.
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