A Turkish courtroom on Sunday jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Tayyip Erdoğan’s prime political rival, regardless of widespread protests in opposition to his detention and the allegations in opposition to him.
Prosecutors have accused İmamoğlu of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, saying he’s suspected of main a “felony group.” He’s awaiting trial on these fees.
Detention orders have additionally been issued for close to 100 individuals related with İmamoğlu, together with his press adviser, Murat Ongun, CNN cited local media Anadolu as reporting.
İmamoğlu was elected mayor of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest metropolis, in 2019 and once more in 2024. He’s the opposition Republican Individuals’s Get together’s likely presidential nominee. The get together has mentioned the fees in opposition to him are politically motivated, describing them as “a coup try.”
In a post on X hours earlier than his jailing, İmamoğlu wrote: “The partitions of concern have been overcome, now there’s a nation,” referring to a protest that was scheduled in Istanbul’s Sarachane Park Saturday evening.
