The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, has been formally arrested, charged with corruption and sent to pre-trial detention, a court in Turkey ruled on Sunday.
Imamoglu, a rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday, days before he was due to be selected as a 2028 presidential candidate.
Imamoglu denies the allegations, and protests against his detention – some of the largest the country has seen in more than a decade – have raged on for four nights.
Over 1 million people in Turkey are demonstrating against Turkey becoming a totalitarian dictatorship.pic.twitter.com/PhGYev4JiB
— Foreign policy (@ForeignpolicyWB) March 22, 2025
According to documents seen by Reuters, Imamoglu answered at least 70 questions in total during his police interrogation, denying all charges brought against him.
“I see today during my interrogation that I and my colleagues are faced with unimaginable accusations and slanders,” Imamoglu said in his defense at a counter-terrorism police interrogation, one document showed. “These slanders will bounce back after hitting the walls in the heart of our nation,” Imamoglu said.
Imamoglu is seen as one of Erdogan’s most formidable political rivals. He is the only person running in the CHP’s presidential candidate selection, which is set to take place on Sunday.
However, on Wednesday, he was one of more than 100 people, including other politicians, journalists and businessmen, detained as part of an investigation.
A day before his arrest, Istanbul University announced it was revoking Imamoglu’s degree due to alleged irregularities, a measure – which if upheld – would put his ability to run as president into doubt.
According to the Turkish constitution, presidents must have completed higher education to hold office.
Since his arrest, thousands have taken to the streets across Turkey in largely peaceful demonstrations. Authorities tried to stifle the street demonstrations with a four-day ban on all gatherings in Istanbul, which was extended to Ankara and Izmir as protests spread across the country.
Erdogan, for his part, has condemned the unrest and accused Imamoglu’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) of trying to “disturb the peace and polarize our people”.
The mayor’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition, has condemned the detention as politically motivated and has urged supporters to demonstrate lawfully.
Imamoglu, 54, who leads Erdogan in some opinion polls, was due to be named the CHP’s official presidential candidate within days.
The next election is set for 2028, but Erdogan has reached his two-term limit as president after having earlier served as prime minister. If he wishes to run again he must call an early election or change the constitution.
