A Turkish court has jailed the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, pending trial on corruption charges. This move sidelines a potential contender in Turkey’s next presidential election and the top rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was arrested at his home on Wednesday, just four days before he was set to be named the presidential candidate of Turkey’s political opposition. He has denied the accusations, which his opponents claim are a ploy to prevent a popular politician from running for president.

The court ordered Imamoglu’s detention on allegations of corruption pending a trial, including leading a criminal organization, bribery, and financial misdeeds at City Hall. Prosecutors also accused him of supporting terrorism through his political coordination with a pro-Kurdish group during local elections last year. The court has yet to rule on whether he will be jailed for those accusations as well.

Imamoglu, who has been elected mayor three times since 2019, could potentially be removed from office. Critics of Mr. Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for over two decades, accuse him of using state power to undermine his rivals. Some European leaders have criticized the mayor’s arrest, calling on the Turkish government to uphold the rule of law, while senior U.S. officials have been relatively quiet on the issue.

Despite Imamoglu’s detention, Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, proceeded with a primary on Sunday to formally designate him their presidential candidate. Party members and non-party members voted in support of the jailed mayor.

The jailing of Imamoglu could disrupt the administration of Turkey’s largest city, given its sizeable bureaucracy and various companies that build housing, run public transportation, and carry out infrastructure projects. Large protests against Imamoglu’s detention have erupted nightly across Turkey, despite government restrictions on public demonstrations and social media access. As of Saturday, 343 people had been arrested during these protests.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/world/middleeast/turkey-ekrem-imamoglu-istanbul.html