Detained Istanbul Mayor Faces 2nd Day of Questioning as Protests Intensify
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu appeared before police for questioning on terror-related charges on Saturday, a day after his interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has sparked widespread protests across Türkiye, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition.
The mayor, who is a popular opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish militants. Dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.
Many view the arrest as a politically driven attempt to remove a popular opposition figure and key challenger to Erdogan in the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Türkiye’s courts operate independently.
On Friday, police questioned Imamoglu for four hours over the corruption accusations, during which he denied all of the charges, Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media reported. He was expected to be transferred to a courthouse later on Saturday for questioning by prosecutors and to face possible charges.
