Istanbul mayor and main rival to Erdogan arrested days before presidential nomination

Turkish police detained Istanbul’s powerful Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in connection with two investigations into graft and ‘supporting terror’, a move that the main opposition party slammed as a politically-motivated coup.

Turkish police raided the home of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 18, detaining him over a corruption probe in a move denounced by the main opposition CHP party as a "coup". Picture: AFP

Turkish police detained Istanbul’s powerful Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in connection with two investigations into graft and “supporting terror,” a move that the main opposition party slammed as a politically-motivated “coup”.

Mr Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival and his detention came just days before he was to be named the candidate of the main opposition party CHP in the 2028 presidential election.

Widely seen as the strongest challenger to Mr Erdogan, Mr Imamoglu has been targeted by a growing number of what critics say are spurious legal investigations.

Hundreds of police joined the pre-dawn raid on his home, Mr Imamoglu said on X, with the government saying his detention was linked to a corruption probe and another for “helping a terror organisation.”

Shortly afterwards, Turkey briefly blocked access to social networks, with police fanning out around City Hall and closing off Taksim Square, banning all protests for four days.

“What has happened is an attempted coup,” railed CHP leader Ozgur Ozel in a speech at City Hall.

“Ekrem Imamoglu’s freedom to be a candidate is not being taken away, it is this nation’s freedom to elect him that is being taken away.” His words were echoed by the mayor’s wife, Dr Dilek Kaya Imamoglu. “This is a targeted political operation aimed at eliminating Turkey’s future president. This is a direct blow to the nation, and we will fight,” she vowed.

Anger on the streets

There was also anger on the streets.

“We’re living in a dictatorship!” angrily said a shopkeeper in his 40s called Kuzey.

“Whenever this guy and his dirty team see someone strong, they panic and do something illegal,” he said, referring to Mr Erdogan and the AKP who have been in power since 2003.

“In the past, it was soldiers who carried out coups. Today it’s the politicians,” sighed 63-year-old Hasan Yildiz.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pictured in February. Picture: AFP

Despite the protest ban, 300 people rallied outside the police station where the mayor was taken in Fatih district, yelling: “Imamoglu, you are not alone!” and “Government resign!”

Nearby, police fired teargas to disperse some 400 students protesting outside Istanbul University over its decision late Tuesday to revoke Mr Imamoglu’s degree.

The pre-dawn raid on Mr Imamoglu’s home sparked chaos on the country’s financial markets, with the Turkish lira falling 14.5 per cent against the dollar.

‘Nothing short of a coup’

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Mr Imamoglu was one of seven people being investigated for the “alleged crime of aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation” — a reference to the banned Kurdish PKK militant group.

A second investigation, in which 100 people were being probed, involved allegations of “bribery, extortion, corruption, aggravated fraud, and illegally obtaining personal data for profit as part of a criminal organisation”.

Most of the 106 people cited in the probes belonged to the CHP, with critics saying it was a huge blow for the opposition.

“What happened this morning was nothing short of a coup against the main opposition party, with far-reaching consequences for Turkey’s political trajectory,” political scientist Berk Esen at Istanbul’s Sabanci University told AFP.

The move against Mr Imamoglu drew a sharp condemnation from Berlin, with the foreign ministry saying it was a “serious setback for democracy”.

University students gather in front of the municipality headquarters in support of arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Picture: Getty Images

And several European mayors signed a statement denouncing his detention, saying it “not only poses a threat to individual rights but also challenges the fabric of democratic governance in the region.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said she was “shocked” to learn of the raid, saying it was “a new step in the Erdogan regime’s crackdown on opposition mayors” and demanding he be released immediately”.

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas also expressed concern over the move, writing on X: “My friend Ekrem, we are by your side.”

The raid occurred just hours after Istanbul University revoked Mr Imamoglu’s degree, amid claims it was falsely obtained.

In Turkey, presidential candidates must have a higher education qualification, with Mr Imamoglu vowing late Tuesday to fight the move through the courts.

His detention came just days ahead of a key meeting of the CHP party on Sunday at which Mr Imamoglu was to have been formally named its candidate for the 2028 elections.

The 53-year-old, who was resoundingly re-elected as mayor of Turkey’s largest city last year, has been named in several legal probes, with three new cases opened this year alone