This Wednesday, Turkish police arrested the communist mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition leader and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as part of a series of investigations into alleged corruption and links to terrorist groups.
This arrest, along with the detention of more than a hundred people, marked a significant intensification of the crackdown on opposition and dissenting voices in Türkiye.
According to local media, prosecutors issued arrest warrants for İmamoğlu and more than 100 people. The police raided his house before dawn, detaining him around 7:30 in the morning, which sparked a series of protests in the city.
Among those detained was Murat Ongun, a close collaborator of İmamoğlu, and several district mayors. The detention occurred in a context of growing discontent following the defeats suffered by Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in last year's local elections, which has fueled demands for early national elections.
However, the government insists that judicial decisions are independent and rejects any accusations of political motivations in actions against opposition figures.
Before his detention, İmamoğlu posted a message on social media expressing that, despite the tyranny he faced, he wouldn't be discouraged.
Despite authorities having closed several streets in Istanbul and banned demonstrations for four days, thousands of people gathered around the police headquarters and in front of Istanbul City Hall to express their support.
In a demonstration in front of City Hall, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition party, accused the government of carrying out a "judicial coup" and usurping the will of the people.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç denied that the detentions had any relation to the government, insisting that investigations and judicial cases are independent processes.
However, this argument was met with skepticism by the opposition and international observers, who consider İmamoğlu's arrest an attempt to silence one of Erdoğan's main political rivals.
This event also triggered a strong reaction in the markets: Istanbul's main stock index fell by 7%, leading to a temporary halt in trading, while the Turkish lira lost about 3.5% of its value against the dollar.
İmamoğlu, who won the Istanbul municipal elections in 2019, faces strong accusations of corruption and links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an organization designated as terrorist by Türkiye and its international allies.
