A court in Istanbul on Monday rejected an appeal and ruled that Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu will remain in custody pending trial in a corruption case. The AP news agency reported this, TASR reports. Imamoglu, a well-known opposition politician and an opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested on March 19 on corruption charges and four days later the court placed him in custody. Imamoglu denies all charges.
His detention is seen as politically motivated, with the aim of removing him - as Erdogan's main rival - from politics ahead of Turkey's presidential election scheduled for 2028. Imamoglu's lawyers filed an appeal against his detention last week, arguing that there was no risk of their client fleeing or otherwise evading investigation. However, an Istanbul court rejected their request for release on Monday.
The court also dismissed an appeal against the detention proceedings filed by Imamoglu's close associate Murat Ongun and others detained along with Imamoglu on suspicion of corruption. The developments in Imamoglu's case sparked the biggest wave of anti-government protests in Turkey in more than a decade. More than 1,000 people - mostly university students - have been detained for their involvement. Some 250 of them have since been released from prison. On Sunday, the Republican People's Party (CHP) held the first of its planned nationwide rallies in support of Imamoglu: it was held in Turkey's Black Sea province of Samsun and in the city of the same name, where the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, launched the war of independence in 1919.
CHP chairman spoke at the meeting Özgür Özelwho said of the current Turkish leadership that it came to power through elections and now does not want to give it up through elections. "It's called a coup," Özel said. He added that a petition launched last week demanding Imamoglu's release already has nearly 10 million signatures. Imamoglu's detention has strengthened opposition ranks and united voters across the political spectrum. The CHP held an extraordinary congress on 6 April, at which incumbent leader and sole candidate Özel won 1,170 of the 1,276 votes, confirming him in office.
The CHP congress was held amid growing fears that the government crackdown on Imamoglu could soon spread to the party itself. Some members fear that authorities could try to take control of the CHP, citing alleged irregularities at its 2023 congress. Ankara prosecutors launched an investigation into the party in February over allegations that delegates received bribes in exchange for supporting Özel in the vote.
TASR/gnews.cz-jav
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