In the early hours of Wednesday morning (March 19), Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was taken into police custody at his home. The mayor, seen by many as President Erdoğan’s strongest political challenger, had recently declared his presidential candidacy for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). İmamoğlu had already been targeted by a growing list of investigations in recent months.
Three primary investigations were launched that target İmamoğlu and members of his inner circle. A total of 106 individuals, including the Istanbul mayor, were arrested early Wednesday. District mayors of İstanbul’s Şişli and Beylikdüzü districts were also arrested Wednesday morning.
1- Corruption investigation
A detention order was issued for Ekrem İmamoğlu that identifies him as a ‘criminal organization leader’ and includes 99 other suspects. ‘Bribery’, ‘illegal sharing of personal information’, and ‘corruption in awarding of tenders’ are included in the arrest warrant.
This investigation rests on a recently released video purporting to show CHP members counting cash allegedly obtained through a bribery and laundering scheme spearheaded by İmamoğlu.
A statement following the dawn arrest detailed alleged corruption in the awarding of tender contracts designed to benefit close affiliates of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, mentioning ‘fake invoices’ and ‘artificially inflated tender prices’.
2- Alleged cooperation with PKK affiliates in runup to 2024 local elections
A second investigation accuses İmamoğlu and six others of cooperation with the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) leading up to last year’s local elections, which saw major losses for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (PKK).
The investigation alleges that İmamoğlu’s CHP and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party cooperated with the PKK in the runup to last year’s polls, in which both parties agreed not to run candidates in certain municipalities in order to boost the other’s chances of winning. DEM, for example, elected not to put forward candidates in some western provinces in what was widely interpreted as a bid to boost the CHP’s chances in those regions.
The charge alleges that the plan was a deliberate attempt to aid PKK infiltration into these regions and that the Istanbul mayor played a leading role in cooperating with the outlawed militant group.
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3- Gezi investigation
The third investigation announced Wednesday does not implicate İmamoğlu but concerns the Gezi Park Protests of 2013, a major uprising against Erdoğan’s rule centered around the Gezi Park and Taksim Square area of Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district.
Journalist İsmail Saymaz was arrested yesterday in connection with this investigation. A statement accuses Saymaz of “actions aimed at preventing the 61st Government of the Republic of Turkey from performing its duty through force and violence.”
Saymaz’s social media posts regarding the Gezi protests from 13 years ago form the basis for the investigation.
Saymaz joins a long list of figures in Turkey arrested in connection with Gezi, including Osman Kavala, Ayşe Barım, Can Atalay, and others.
