Police arrest Istanbul mayor and key Erdoğan rival amid crackdown

euronews (in English)

Police arrest Istanbul mayor and key Erdoğan rival amid crackdown  The government's move to detain Ekrem İmamoğlu comes 24 hours after his university diploma was revoked.   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/19/police-arrest-istanbul-mayor-and-key-erdogan-rival-amid-crackdown  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

Transcript

00:00Turkish police have arrested Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a key rival of President

00:07Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a sweeping crackdown on opposition figures.

00:11The Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office described Imamoglu as a criminal enterprise ringleader,

00:16detaining him alongside nearly 100 others, including his aides and election campaign

00:20managers.

00:21There is also a prominent opposition journalist among those who are detained.

00:25The move comes just days before Imamoglu's Republican People's Party, CHP, is due to

00:30hold presidential candidate elections with Imamoglu as the sole contender.

00:35Adding to the pressure, Istanbul University annulled his degree on Tuesday, potentially

00:39disqualifying him from running for president if the decision stands.

00:44The wider operation targeted MedyaCorp, a subsidiary of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality,

00:49and those involved in the SITI consensus, which is an agreement between Imamoglu's

00:53CHP and the pro-Kurdish Dem Party to back shared candidates in municipal polls.

01:01Imamoglu is accused of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, designated

01:06a terrorist group by Turkey and its allies.

01:08He and his associates also face corruption charges, including allegations of bribery

01:12and using municipal subsidiaries for financial gain.

01:16During the detention of Imamoglu, some critical roads and metro stations were blocked by police

01:20and access to social media platforms was restricted, as the governor imposed a ban on gatherings

01:25and demonstrations.

01:27Critics say the arrests stem from significant losses suffered by Erdogan's ruling party

01:31in the last year's local elections and that the latest development is a civil coup to

01:35the will of the electorate.

01:37Government officials, on the other hand, insist the courts act independently.

Category

Transcript

Recommended