Turkish police arrest Istanbul mayor, a key Erdogan rival, as government crackdown escalates

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul's mayor — a popular opposition leader and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and several other prominent figures as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links. The detention of Ekrem Imamoglu was a dramatic escalation in a crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkey.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued warrants for Imamoglu and some 100 other people. Police raided his residence near dawn and detained the mayor at around 7:30 a.m., his wife said. Among those detained was Imamoglu's close aide, Murat Ongun and two district mayors.

Critics say the crackdown follows significant losses by Erdogan's ruling party in local elections last year amid growing calls for early national elections. Government officials insist that the courts operate independently and reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.

“We are facing great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” Imamoglu said earlier in the day in a video post on social media.

Authorities closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest.

Despite the ban, people gathered at Istanbul’s police headquarters, carrying posters of the mayor and banners with his photo around their shoulders. Others chanted slogans and raised their fists in the air as riot police cordoned off the facility.

Thousands of people later joined a rally outside the city hall, where the leader of the mayor's party, the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, accused the government of carrying out a “coup.”

“Let’s call it what it is: a coup attempt," Ozgur Ozel told the crowd. "Today, the will of the people is being seized and usurped through a judicial coup targeting the people of Istanbul.”

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters the arrests had nothing to do with the government. “Linking investigations and cases initiated by the judiciary to our President is, at best, presumptuous and inappropriate,” he said.

The backdrop

Erdogan, a populist with increasingly authoritarian tendencies, has led Turkey as prime minister or president for more than 20 years. His current term runs until 2028 but he has indicated he'd like to serve longer — something he could achieve with a constitutional change or if early elections are called.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange’s main index dropped by 7% over the news, triggering a temporary halt in trading to prevent panic selling and stabilize the market. Trading later resumed but was again halted in the afternoon. The Turkish lira lost some 3.5% of its value against the dollar.

Anadolu, the news agency, said that Imamoglu and several others are suspected of a multitude of financial irregularities.

Imamoglu is also suspected of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, by allegedly forming an alliance with a Kurdish umbrella organization for the Istanbul municipal elections, the agency said. The PKK, behind a decadeslong insurgency in Turkey, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and other allies.

The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office later obtained a court order for authorities to seize a construction company partly owned by Imamoglu, based on reports from the the country’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, HaberTurk and other media reports said.

Silencing the opposition

A day earlier, Istanbul University invalidated Imamoglu's diploma, effectively disqualifying him from the next presidential race — a university degree is a requisite for running in elections under Turkish law.

The mayor’s party was to hold a primary on Sunday where he was expected to be chosen for its candidate in future presidential elections. With all the arrests Wednesday, that vote was in doubt but Ozel, the party's chairman, said it would go ahead as planned.

In a message conveyed through his lawyer, Imamoglu said his morale was high and encouraged his supporters to “keep their spirits high.”

“We will emerge stronger from this process," his lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan quoted him as saying.

Earlier, hundreds also gathered outside CHP’s headquarters in Ankara as the party's lawmakers protested inside the parliament, disrupting proceedings before marching out.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party condemned the detentions and called for the immediate release of all taken into custody.

Imamoglu's arrest was a "disgrace that will not be forgotten for centuries. This operation, which shatters faith in justice, is an attempt to redesign politics through the judiciary,” Tulay Hatimogullari, the party’s co-chairwoman, wrote on X.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock describing the arrests as a “blow to democracy in Turkey.”

“We are seeing clearly that the space for opposition politicians is getting smaller and smaller,” she said.

Turkey has been trying for decades to join the European Union, but its accession process is held up over concerns about its commitment to democracy and other values like respect for the rule of law.

“The arrest of the mayor is deeply concerning,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told reporters in Brussels. “Turkey must uphold the democratic values, especially the rights of elected officials.”

Amnesty International said Imamoglu’s detention marked an escalation in Turkey’s crackdown on the opposition.

“While the weaponization of vague anti-terrorism allegations to detain and prosecute opponents is not new, these latest detentions and associated restrictions represent an alarming intensification of the targeting of real or perceived critics," said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s deputy director for Europe.

Ongun, the mayor's aide, appealed for support on X even as he himself was being arrested, though at the time he apparently didn't know that Imamoglu was also being taken into custody.

“I entrust Ekrem Imamoglu to the Turkish nation. Protect, watch over and support him. They cannot be defeat the nation," Ongun said.

Separately, police also detained a prominent investigative journalist, Ismail Saymaz, for questioning, the opposition-aligned Halk TV reported.

Meanwhile, internet-access advocacy group netblocks.org reported Wednesday that access has been restricted in Turkey to popular social media platforms.

Legal obstacles

In nullifying Imamoglu’s diploma, the university cited alleged irregularities in his 1990 transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus to its business faculty, a decision Imamoglu said he would challenge.

Imamoglu faces multiple lawsuits, including allegations of trying to influence a judicial expert investigating opposition-led municipalities. The cases could result in prison sentences and a political ban.

He is also appealing a 2022 conviction of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case that could result in a political ban.

Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. The 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 Imamoglu also won. The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which his party made significant gains against Erdogan’s governing party.

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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Lorian Belanger in Bangkok and Cinar Kiper in Bodrum, Turkey, contributed to this report.