Istanbul’s mayor arrested for corruption as he wins Chp’s primaries
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An Istanbul court ordered the imprisonment of Ekrem Imamoglu - Istanbul's mayor - on Sunday. Imamoglu, who became Chp party's candidate for the 2028 Turkish elections just yesterday, is the main political rival of current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power for 22 years. Imamoglu's imprisonment sparked a wave of protests in Istanbul, as well as in other big cities such as Ankara and Izmir. Turkish police arrested around 700 protesters and further extended the ban on gatherings in public places.
The prosecutor's charges
Imamoglu is accused of multiple offenses: criminal association, passive corruption, embezzlement of public funds, bid-rigging, and illegal processing of personal data. The prosecution is also investigating alleged connections between Imamoglu and terrorist groups such as the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). If convicted of terrorism charges, Imamoglu would be automatically disqualified from running for public office and would be unable to run against Erdoğan in 2028. The mayor of Istanbul, who was immediately suspended from his position, was interrogated for over six hours on Sunday, during which he denied all charges. He is currently being held in the high-security Silivri prison on the outskirts of Istanbul.
Imamoglu wins Chp's primaries
On Sunday, during Imamoglu's incarceration, the Chp party held extraordinary primaries —open even to non-members — which resulted in 15 million people casting their votes for the Istanbul mayor as the main candidate for the 2028 elections.
Turkey is already going through a very delicate time, partly due to Erdoğan's economic policies, which have caused the Turkish lira to lose 40% of its value over the past year and inflation to rise to 75%.
The prosecutor's charges
Imamoglu is accused of multiple offenses: criminal association, passive corruption, embezzlement of public funds, bid-rigging, and illegal processing of personal data. The prosecution is also investigating alleged connections between Imamoglu and terrorist groups such as the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). If convicted of terrorism charges, Imamoglu would be automatically disqualified from running for public office and would be unable to run against Erdoğan in 2028. The mayor of Istanbul, who was immediately suspended from his position, was interrogated for over six hours on Sunday, during which he denied all charges. He is currently being held in the high-security Silivri prison on the outskirts of Istanbul.
Imamoglu wins Chp's primaries
On Sunday, during Imamoglu's incarceration, the Chp party held extraordinary primaries —open even to non-members — which resulted in 15 million people casting their votes for the Istanbul mayor as the main candidate for the 2028 elections.
Turkey is already going through a very delicate time, partly due to Erdoğan's economic policies, which have caused the Turkish lira to lose 40% of its value over the past year and inflation to rise to 75%.