![Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey [Nevzat Yıldırım/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20200908_2_44247523_57976037.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Turkish security services arrested Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on allegations of corruption and links to terrorism, in a move that has been widely criticised as a politically-motivated crackdown on Turkiye’s opposition.
According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Turkish prosecutors accused Imamoglu and 100 people linked to him of numerous charges including involvement in a criminal organisation, extortion, bribery and aggravated fraud.
The mayor of Istanbul is also accused by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of having provided support to the outlawed and terror-designated groups the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).
His arrest was met with widespread anger and condemnation, with many criticising it as a direct crackdown on the main component of the Turkish opposition, particularly as it was conducted just days before his expected nomination as the presidential candidate for the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
READ: Where does Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu get his popularity from?
The CHP itself immediately condemned the security services’ apprehension of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main potential challenge, calling it “a coup against our next president”.
The morning raid came a day after Imamoglu was stripped of his bachelor’s degree from Istanbul University on the grounds of an “obvious error”, without specific details having been disclosed. That further threatened to ruin his political ambitions, however, as a degree is a requirement for the office of a Turkish president.
In a video he shared on his X account yesterday, seemingly as he was preparing to be taken into custody, Imamoglu condemned the arrest and stated that “I am saddened to say a handful of people, trying to steal the will of the people, have implicated our dear police and security forces in this wrongful act.”
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