Turkey detains Istanbul’s mayor, a key rival of President Erdogan

ISTANBUL, Turkey

Turkish authorities detained Istanbul Mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu – a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – on Wednesday as part of corruption and terrorism investigations.

Detention orders were also issued for around 100 others connected to the mayor, including his press adviser Murat Ongun, according to state-run news agency Anadolu Agency.

The move came just days before the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was scheduled to hold a primary election where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as its presidential candidate.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called the detention “a coup attempt against our next president.”

Video from Turk showed police wearing riot gear and dozens of security vehicles outside Imamoglu’s home.

“I am saddened to say, a handful of people who are trying to steal the will of the people, have sent the dear police, the security forces implicating them in this wrongful doing,” Imamoglu said in a video posted to X on Wednesday.

“Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door my house — the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul.”

Critics denounced the detentions as politically motivated and part of an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition following Erdogan’s major defeat in local and mayoral elections last year.

“Making decisions on behalf of the people, using force to replace the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup. There is currently a force in place to prevent the nation from determining the next president,” Ozel said in a post on X.

Following Imamoglu’s detention, Istanbul’s governorship suspended the right to demonstrate in the city until March 23 “to maintain public order.” It also announced the closure of some metro stops and roads in downtown Istanbul.