ReutersThe main rival of the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan was officially arrested and accused of corruption.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, should be selected as presidential candidate of the People’s Party of the Republican Opposition People (CHP) in 2028 in a ballot.
He denied allegations and said they were politically motivated. “I will never bow,” he wrote on X before he is in pre-trial detention.
His detention triggered some of the biggest demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade. Erdogan condemned the demonstrations and accused the CHP of having tried to “disturb peace and polarize our people”.
Imamoglu was one of the more than 100 people, including other politicians, journalists and businessmen, detained as part of an investigation on Wednesday, triggering four consecutive nights of demonstrations.
On Sunday, he was officially arrested and accused of “establishing and managing a criminal organization, bribes, extortion, illegally registration of personal data and rigging of a tender”.
He was placed in pre -trial detention. AFP and the local media reported that it had been taken to a Silivri prison.
In social networks publications, Imamoglu criticized his arrest as a “black spot on our democracy”, and said that the legal proceedings were not followed.
He urged people through the country to join the demonstrations and participate in the Sunday vote. Imamoglu is the only person who presents himself in the selection of CHP presidential candidates.
Large crowds had already gathered near the town hall of Istanbul in the early evening, and could be seen by waving the Turkish flags and singing in front of a row of riot police.
As night was starting to fall, police were seen to draw water cannons on certain demonstrators.
Arrest does not prevent the imamoglu Application and election as president, but if he is found guilty of one of the charges against him, he will not be able to run.
The imprisoned politician is considered one of the most formidable rivals of Erdogan, who held his duties in Türkiye for 22 years as Prime Minister and President.
However, due to the limits of the term, Erdogan can no longer present himself in the elections in 2028 unless he changed the Constitution.
Opposition personalities say that arrests are politically motivated. But the Ministry of Justice criticized those who connect Erdogan to the arrests and insists on his judicial independence.
Imamoglu was suspended from his post as mayor of Instanbul, the interior interior ministry said in a press release.
Prosecutors also want to accuse Imamoglu to “help an armed terrorist organization”, but the Turkish court said it was not necessary.
The CHP had a de facto alliance with the Party of Equality and Democracy of the Pro-Kurdish Peoples (DEM) as part of the local elections from last year.
DEM was accused of being affiliated with the PKK workers’ party – or Kurdistan – which he denies.
The PKK declared a ceasefire at the beginning of the month, after leaving an insurrection against Turkey for more than 40 years. It is prohibited as a terrorist group in Türkiye, the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Meanwhile, the University of Istanbul announced on Tuesday that it revoked the imamoglu diploma due to alleged irregularities.
If it is confirmed, this would put its ability to present itself as president, because the Turkish Constitution affirms that the presidents must have completed higher education to hold its functions.
The lawyers of Imamoglu declared that they would appeal the decision to diploma to the Constitutional Court and to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Supreme Electoral Council will decide if Imamoglu is qualified to be a candidate.
Getty imagesThousands of people went down to the streets of Turkey in largely peaceful demonstrations since the detention of Imamoglu on Wednesday.
An initial four -day ban on gatherings in Istanbul, designed to stifle demonstrations, now covers the whole country. It was extended for another four days on Saturday.
According to Turkish authorities.
The riot police clashed several times with demonstrators and was seen drawn gas in pepper and water cannons towards them.
On Saturday, the tear gas suspended the air outside the mayor’s office in Istanbul even before the demonstrations begin.
As the crowd grew throughout the evening, it became difficult to breathe like a round after the dismissal to disperse the demonstrators.
Sing “rights, law, justice”, people of all ages have challenged the government’s ban on protesting against what they have seen as illegal detention.
A young woman, dressed in black and wearing a facial mask, told the BBC that she does not protest for political reasons or because she supported the opposition, but rather to defend democracy.
“I am here for justice, I am here for freedom. We are free people and the Turks cannot accept this. It is contrary to our behavior and our culture.”
Another woman, who brought her 11 -year -old son to demonstrations, said she wanted to include her because she was worried about her future.
“It becomes more and more difficult to live in Turkey day by day, we cannot control our lives, we cannot choose who we want and there is no real justice here,” she said.
