lucabianciardi#Turkish court rejects appeal smoking release of arrested mayor #Ekrem #Imamoglu. Hard time for #democracy.
Laïc Saloçin
Chuck DarwinOn Sunday, Turkish prosecutors formally requested the arrest of Istanbul Mayor #Ekrem #İmamoğlu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on charges of corruption and alleged links to terrorism.
A court is expected to decide whether İmamoğlu will face formal charges and be detained pending trial.
According to the daily Cumhuriyet, İmamoğlu was interrogated for about five hours on Saturday as part of an investigation into allegations of aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). He had previously been questioned for four hours on Friday over corruption accusations.
The mayor has denied all charges during both interrogations.
The arrest has drawn significant attention due to its potential political ramifications, as İmamoğlu is a prominent opposition figure and a possible presidential candidate,
triggering widespread protests across multiple cities organized by opposition forces,
primarily led by the Republican People's Party (CHP) to denounce the move.
Many opposition figures and supporters view the case as a politically motivated attempt to sideline İmamoğlu ahead of the 2028 presidential race.
The government denied such claims, insisting that Turkiye’s judiciary operates independently.
https://shafaq.com/en/World/Political-tensions-rise-in-Turkiye-Prosecutors-seek-mamo-lu-s-arrest
Istanbul Mayor #Ekrem #Imamoglu, a potential challenger to longtime Turkey's conservative President #Recep #Tayyip #Erdogan, appeared in court on Saturday, charged with corruption and terrorism through alleged links to Kurdish-militants.
Turkish prosecutors early on Sunday urged Imamoglu and four aides be jailed on the charges.
Imamoglu was detained on Wednesday, along with dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors.
Public protests have erupted in more than a dozen cities in response to the arrests.
Many view Imamoglu's detention as as a politically-driven attempt to remove one of Erdogan's key rivals in the next presidential race, scheduled for 2028.
https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-large-crowds-rally-as-imamoglu-appears-in-court/a-72008623
Turkish prosecutors early on Sunday urged Imamoglu and four aides be jailed on the charges.
Imamoglu was detained on Wednesday, along with dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors.
Public protests have erupted in more than a dozen cities in response to the arrests.
Many view Imamoglu's detention as as a politically-driven attempt to remove one of Erdogan's key rivals in the next presidential race, scheduled for 2028.
https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-large-crowds-rally-as-imamoglu-appears-in-court/a-72008623
Turkey’s protests over Istanbul mayor grow into ‘fight about democracy’
When demonstrators gathered at Istanbul’s city hall last week in outrage at the arrest of mayor #Ekrem #İmamoğlu,
26-year-old Azra said she was initially too scared to defy a ban on gatherings.
As protests grew on university campuses and in cities and towns across Turkey, she could no longer resist joining.
“I saw the spark in people’s eyes and the excitement on their faces, and I decided I had to come down here,” she said with a grin,
standing among tens of thousands that defied a ban on assembly to fill the streets around city hall on Friday night.
Despite the crowds, Azra feared reprisals and declined to give her full name.
Many demonstrators were masked in a bid to defy facial recognition
technology and fearing the teargas or pepper spray sometimes deployed by the police.
Others smiled and took selfies to celebrate as fireworks illuminated the night sky.
The arrest of the mayor of Turkey’s largest city in a dawn raid last week was a watershed moment in the country’s prolonged shift away from democracy.
Opponents of president #Recep #Tayyip #Erdogan fear it is a move to sideline the sole challenger capable of defeating him in upcoming elections, expected before 2028.
Early on Sunday, prosecutors requested the formal arrest and jailing pending trial of İmamoğlu, who was being held pending a court decision.
On Saturday, protests in support of İmamoğlu erupted in Istanbul
– where flares and stones where thrown at police, who responded with pepper spray
– while in Ankara, the capital, police used water cannon and tear gas on demonstrators.
The interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said 323 people had been detained following protests on Saturday night.
Earlier, he said: “There will be no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the people’s peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation.”
During the week, İmamoğlu and more than 100 other people including municipal officials and the head of the mayor’s construction firm were served detention orders and accused of embezzlement and corruption
– charges the mayor denies.
He also denies terrorism charges levelled at him over collaboration with a leftwing political coalition prior to local elections last year, which saw major losses for Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP).
Justice minister Yılmaz Tunç attempted to rebuff any suspicion the charges against İmamoğlu and others from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) were politicised.
“Attempting to associate judicial investigations and cases with our president is, to say the least,
an act of audacity and irresponsibility,” he said.
Within days, what began as protests in response to İmamoğlu’s detention has grown into something more.
“This is bigger than İmamoğlu. It’s about a fight for democracy, law and equal rights,” said Azra as demonstrators massed around her.
The Turkish president has long sought to retake Istanbul from opposition control, fuelling protesters’ joy at defying a ban on gatherings in the city where Erdoğa began his political career as mayor.
Standing outside a metro station as hundreds of cheering people poured into the street,
breaking into anti-government chants and banging on the escalators,
another protester, named Diler, called the demonstrations
“a response to the pressure that has built up over years”.
“There are problems with the economy, with education, with the health system,” she said in a nod to the economic crisis that has seen the cost of living soar.
“We are fed up with this government.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/22/turkey-protests-istanbul-mayor-grow-into-fight-about-democracy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Istanbul Mayor #Ekrem #Imamoglu made headlines in April after coasting to a second term in office by nearly 12 percentage points.
Imamoglu, who has served at the city’s helm since 2019, is seen as a major political threat to Turkish President Recep Tayyip #Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party ( #AKP ).
The latest win in Istanbul cemented Imamoglu’s continued popularity among the Turkish public.
⭐️But Imamoglu is only the most prominent face of a broader opposition, led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP). In March’s municipal elections, the CHP secured its most crushing victory over the AKP in decades. Possibly more notable than Imamoglu’s reelection was the newly elected class of women executives of provinces and districts across the country.
One of these women— #Sinem #Dedetas—may hold the keys to the future of Turkey’s opposition.
Imamoglu is currently battling slander charges in the country’s high court,
in addition to a slew of other cases that could eventually ban him from politics,
even as he is the favorite to run for the CHP in Turkey’s 2028 presidential election.
No matter how those fortunes play out, Dedetas promises to be central to the party’s strategy in a post-Erdogan Turkey.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/23/turkey-politics-chp-opposition-detetas-imamoglu-istanbul-erdogan-women/
The Turkish Statistical Institute announced that the country’s annual inflation rate rose to 67.07% in February, overshooting forecasts.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted that annual inflation would climb to 65.7% in February, before falling to 42.7% by the end of 2024.
From January to February, the monthly rate of change was 4.53%, less than last month’s jump of 6.7%, but well above the Reuters poll forecast of 3.7%.
The shock result was primarily driven by price increases in the hotel, cafe, and restaurant sectors, along with inflation in the education sector.
An increase in the minimum wage, introduced on 1 January, also played a hand in February’s reading
#Turkey #Istanbul #mayor #Ekrem #Imamoglu #Erdogan #test #AK
Millions of Turks vote in elections on Sunday to decide who runs their biggest cities
- and whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can wrest back control from the opposition.
#Turkey's economic and social powerhouse, #Istanbul, was won by a united opposition five years ago under popular #mayor #Ekrem #Imamoglu, shattering the president's long run of electoral success.
Now Mr #Erdogan, who was born in this megacity of 16 million people, wants it back and the vote is on a knife-edge.
Whatever happens in Istanbul is being seen as a crucial #test of whether the opposition can pose a serious threat to Mr Erdogan and his #AK Party in the next presidential elections in four years' time.
nu.nl RSSBurgemeester Istanboel 2,5 jaar cel in omdat hij ambtenaren 'dwazen' noemde
Burgemeester Istanboel 2,5 jaar cel in omdat hij ambtenaren 'dwazen' noemde
De burgemeester van Istanboel is veroordeeld tot een gevangenisstraf van twee jaar en zeven maanden. Ekrem Imamoglu, een politieke tegenstander van de Turkse president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, werd schuldig bevonden aan het beledigen van leden van de kiesraad, die hij "dwazen" had genoemd.