Türkiye: Erdogan rival in court – threatens to custody?

The Istanbul public prosecutor has requested custody for the arrested mayor and Erdogan rival Ekrem Imamoglu. The state news agency Anadolu reported. Imamoglu is now to be brought before a judge.

The CHP politician is blamed in two separate procedures related to terrorism and corruption. According to Anadolu, custody was requested in both cases. Specifically, the corruption determination is about suspicion of membership in a criminal association, extortion, bribery, fraud and tender manipulation. The terrorist investigation is therefore about accusation of support for the forbidden Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. Imamoglu vehemently denies the allegations.

Critics see the government’s attempt to eliminate a political opponent behind the procedure against Imamoglu and consider the allegations to be faked. The protest on the streets is also explicitly directed against the government. Imamoglu is considered a promising competitor of the governing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming presidential election. Despite his arrest, the Mayor of Istanbul should be nominated by the opposition CHP to the presidential candidate on Sunday.

In the nationwide vote on the candidacy Imamoglus, in addition to 1.7 million party members of the CHP, citizens are also called up to symbolically coordinated at 4,000 election boxes in the country. Imamoglu is the only candidate. The result pronouncement is expected on Sunday evening.

Candidature depends on the government -related authority

The Mayor of Istanbul was arrested on Wednesday. His planned candidacy was already certain. However, Imamoglu is only the official candidate when the Turkish electoral authority YSK, which is considered by the government, confirms its candidacy. If the terrorist investigation has not been given up by then, the assumption of its candidacy is unlikely. In addition, Imamoglu was revoked on Tuesday. The decision is not yet final. A conclusion is a prerequisite for a presidential candidacy in Turkey.

Imamoglu refers to allegations in the first survey

Imamoglu himself testified until the night of the public prosecutor, as several media reported. He should then be demonstrated to a judge for the statement. It is uncertain whether the order of a pre -trial detention will follow on the judge’s appointment.

Previously, Imamoglu had been asked about the allegations for several hours on a police station on Saturday. “The immoral and baseless accusations raised against me, the reports of invented reports extend to the time of the investigation, aim to undermine my reputation and credibility,” said Imamoglu about the city administration.

Protests against government stop at

On Saturday, too, tens of thousands of people were once again on the streets nationwide to protest against Imamoglus. In Istanbul and Ankara, the police used pepper spray against demonstrators.

The Turkish media supervision RTÜK, meanwhile, threatened the media in the country in the event of “untrue reporting” with punishments and licensing. “We are again asking the media not to rely on partisan and untrue reporting, but only to publish official information and explanations from the competent authorities,” the head of the institution, Ebubekir Sahin, wrote on the X. He expresses “one last reminder”. According to reports, some broadcasters hired their live reporting from demonstrations in the country.

Ilhan Tasci, a member of the media supervision for the opposition, wrote on the platform X, Sahin had overruled the freedom of the press in the country.

Protest bans in Istanbul tightened

The protests themselves are prohibited in several cities. The Istanbul governor’s office recently tightened and extended the protest bans. Now access restrictions also apply to the city, as can be seen from a message from the office. People who want to take part in demonstrations should no longer be let into the city. How this should be implemented was initially unclear.

In addition to demonstrations and meetings, the hanging up of posters, distributing flyers, gathering of signatures or memorial events are prohibited. According to the notification, all measures apply for the time being until midnight on Wednesday.