Thousands rally outside Istanbul city hall for second night over mayor’s arrest
The detention of Ekrem Imamoglu was viewed by many as a politically driven attempt to eliminate a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Thousands of people have gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall for a second consecutive night to rally against the arrest of the city’s mayor.
The detention of Ekrem Imamoglu, a prominent contender against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was viewed by many as a politically driven attempt to eliminate a key rival from the next presidential race.
He was arrested after a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links, escalating a crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices.
Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.
The arrest of a popular opposition leader deepened concerns over democracy and sparked protests in Istanbul and elsewhere, despite a four-day ban on demonstrations in the city and road closures.
It also caused a shockwave in the financial market, triggering temporary halts in trading on Wednesday to prevent panic selling.
Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital Ankara and another popular opposition figure, joined the rally outside Istanbul city hall, calling on all opposition parties to join forces against “injustices”.
Police blocked a group of youths who attempted to breach a barricade to march toward Taksim, Istanbul’s central square.
In Ankara, police fired tear gas to prevent students from advancing along a main avenue.
Critics see the crackdown as an effort by Mr Erdogan to extend his more then two-decade rule after significant losses by the ruling party in local elections last year.
Government officials reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that the courts operate independently.
Omer Celik, a spokesman for Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, disputed allegations by the opposition that the detentions were government-orchestrated and urged respect for the judicial process.
“What a politician should do is to follow the judicial process,” he told journalists. “None of us have any information about the content of the (criminal) file.”
He also rejected accusations by the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, that the mayor’s arrest amounted to a “coup”, saying: “The name of our party, our president, can only be associated with democracy — on the opposite side of a coup.”
Mr Erdogan accused the opposition of failing to respond to the allegations with evidence or legal arguments.
“Whether it’s about the diploma issue or matters of corruption and theft, the opposition never responds to the allegations brought forward by the judiciary,” he said.
“Instead, they confine the matter to political slogans, resorting to the easy way of provoking their base and deceiving the public.”
Earlier, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities had detained dozens of people for sharing “provocative” social media content related to the mayor’s detention.
The authorities identified 261 social media accounts that shared posts that allegedly incited public hatred or crime, including 62 run by people based abroad, Mr Yerlikaya said. At least 37 of the suspected owners were detained and efforts to detain other suspects were continuing.
Imamoglu’s arrest came days before he was expected to be nominated as the Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate in a primary scheduled for Sunday. The party’s leader has said the primary will go ahead as planned.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed concern over the mayor’s detention, saying it was a “very, very bad sign” for Turkey’s relations with the European Union.
He said it was “depressing for democracy in Turkey, but certainly also depressing for the relationship between Europe and Turkey”.
“We can only call for this to end immediately and for opposition and government to stand in competition with each other, and not the opposition being brought to court,” he said.
Prosecutors accused Imamoglu of exploiting his position for financial gain, including the improper allocation of government contracts.
In a separate investigation, prosecutors also accuse him of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, by allegedly forming an alliance with Kurdish groups for the Istanbul municipal elections.
The PKK, behind a decades-long insurgency in Turkey, is designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara, Washington and other allies.
Before his detention, Imamoglu already faced multiple criminal cases that could result in prison sentences and a political ban. He is also appealing against a 2022 conviction for insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case that could result in a political ban.
