The mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned pending his trial for corruption accusations and removed from the position on Sunday, limping a contender potential in the next presidential elections of Turkey and the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested at his home Wednesday, four days before being appointed presidential candidate of the political opposition of Türkiye. He denied the accusations against him, that Mr. Erdogan’s opponents called a stratagem to hinder the presidential offer of a popular politician.
The court ordered that Mr. Imamoglu was imprisoned with accusations of corruption pending a trial. Public ministries accused him of leading a criminal organization and supervising corruption, rigging and other financial misdeeds at the Town Hall.
Public ministries also accused him of supporting terrorism through his political coordination with a pro-curdo group during the local elections last year. The Court has chosen not to order his detention for these accusations, but said that the question remains under investigation.
Sunday afternoon, the Ministry of the Interior removed Mr. Imamoglu from the office.
The demonstrators presented themselves for events late on Sunday in support of Mr. Imamolgu in the largest cities in Türkiye. Many thousands of people gathered in front of the Town Hall of Istanbul who transport Turkish flags and handwritten signs by making fun of Mr. Erdogan or asking for justice.
“I totally believe that these are false accusations,” said Emre Can Erdogdu, a university student in Istanbul. “We have completely lost our trust in the government”.
He said he feared for the future of the country.
“A person who could be the next president is now out of politics,” he said. “It is not just Istanbul. It is all over Turkey.”
The detention alone may not prevent Mr. Imamoglu from running for the president, but faces other road blocks. The day before his arrest, his Alma Mater, the University of Istanbul, canceled his diploma, citing improper procedures in his transfer to the school in 1990. The constitution of Turkey establishes that the president must have completed higher education. The mayor said before being arrested that he would contest the sentence.
Imamoglu, who was elected mayor three times since 2019, also faces a series of other judicial cases, including some who could temporarily prevent him from politics.
In an X post, the mayor invited the Turks to be together against “this black stain on our democracy”.
Of his detention, he said: “I raise myself. I will never bow.”
Mr. Erdogan’s critics, who dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades, have long accused him of using state power to undermine his rivals. But, they say, arrest a presidential contender to undermine it in the race before you start represents a new level of authoritarianism.
Some European leaders criticized the arrest of the mayor and invited the Turkish government to support the rule of law. US officials said little.
Steve Witkoff, sent to the Middle East of President Trump, did not mention the detention of the mayor in an interview with the former Fox News Tucker Carlson anchoring who was published on X Saturday. But he said that Mr. Trump had recently spoken with Mr. Erdogan. The call was not made public by the White House at that moment.
“There are only a lot of good and positive news that comes out of Türkiye right now because of that conversation,” said Witkoff, without providing further details.
The Court also imprisoned dozens of other people on Sunday, according to the news agency Anadolu, including many of the members of Mr. Imamoglu. At least four of his helpers were imprisoned on charges of corruption and two others to support terrorism, they reported the media managed by the state.
Two mayors of the Istanbul district have also been imprisoned and removed from their places, bringing the total removed by the government in the last few months to four. All the Estructed mayors come from the party of Mr. Imamoglu, who won 26 of the 39 districts of Istanbul in the local elections last year.
Despite the detention of Mr. Imamoglu, the main opposition party of Türkiye, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, went on with a primary Sunday to designate its presidential candidate. Party members voted across the country and the party invited the members did not start to launch symbolic votes to support the incarcerated mayor.
In a seat in a neighborhood that Mr. Erdogan’s party won in the elections of last year, about 20 people remained lined up to express symbolic votes for Mr. Imamoglu.
“I’m here for our freedom. I’m here for my children,” said Hilal Dukmeler, a 26 -year -old nurse. “If we keep silent about this, our Republic will not survive.”
He said that Mr. Erdogan’s party did not offer services and considered Mr. Imamoglu a threat.
“This is a government power show,” he said. “They realized that Imamoglu also has power and tried to beat him.”
Erdogan’s current presidential mandate, his second, expires in 2028. While the Constitution limits the presidents with two complete terms, it could be legally correct if Parliament requires early elections, cutting its second term.
Many people in Türkiye expect this to happen. If he does, it is possible that Mr. Imamoglu, 54 years old, can be prohibited from the race. Mr. Erdogan, 71 years old, did not say if he would have run, but he does not have a clear successor and many people in Türkiye expect them to seek another term.
IMAMOGLU’s detention has shocked the markets and the Turchia stock market and the value of its currency have significantly decreased from Wednesday.
Its removal could interrupt the administration of the largest city in Turkey. The city government uses over 100,000 people and supervises a number of companies that build accommodation, manage public transport and carry out infrastructure projects.
Great protests against the detention of Mr. Imamoglu broke out at night through Turkey, despite government efforts to stop them. The public events have been prohibited in the three largest cities in the country, the medial social access has been limited and the main transit hubs were closed to hinder the ability of the protesters to gather in public squares.
Saturday, the Ministry of the Interior said that 343 people had been arrested during the protest and office of the governor of Istanbul, who is appointed by Mr. Erdogan, said that travelers “will probably participate in illicit protests” would be prevented from entering the city.
Gulsin Harman Contributed relationships.