A Turkish opposition politician was imprisoned after he was arrested for accusations of corruption.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and one of the most important political rivals of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had to be formally nominated in a vote on Sunday as the Republican People Party (CHP) 2028 presidential nominated.
The arrest of Mr. Imamoglu and more than 100 other people led to some of the greatest protests in Turkey for decades.
The demonstrations soon became violent with images with collisions between demonstrators and riot police before the crowd swarmed through the city after the police overwhelmed by the scale of the demonstration.
Despite the efforts of the government of Erdogan to ban the meetings and the use of water cannons, the demonstrators did not held on the street for five nights in a row.
On Sunday he was formally arrested and accused of 'setting up and managing a criminal organization, taking bribes, extortion, the unlawful recording of personal data and the rigging of a tender'.
Mr. Imamoglu remains in custody until his process.
According to the Domestic Ministry of Turkey, he is also suspended from his democratically chosen position as mayor.
Ekrem Imamoglu (depicted), the mayor of Istanbul and one of the most important political rivals of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had to be formally nominated as the Republican People's Party (CHP) 2028 Presidential candidate in a vote on Sunday
Erdogan is constitutionally excluded from standing due to term limits and he has begun to see the support for his government has decreased after 22 years in power
Mr Imamoglu's arrest and more than 100 other people have fueled some of the greatest protests in Turkey for decades
A challenging Lord Imamoglu went to social media to criticize his arrest as a 'black spot on our democracy' and claims that Turkey has 'had enough' from Erdogan …
Despite the unrest and provisional detention of Mr Imamoglu in custody, the vote for the selection of the CHP presidential candidate votes.
The BBC reported not -rejected figures from the CHP suggest that almost 15 million people voted in the poll where Mr. Imamoglu was the only candidates.
Mr Imamoglu's arrest does not prevent his candidacy and election as president, but if he is convicted of one of the charges against him, he will not be able to run.
The popular politician defeated the ruling AKP party to win the mayor elections of Istanbul in 2019.
This was praised at the time as a historical result because the party of Erdogan had checked the city of 16 million for a quarter of a century.
The party urged the municipal elections to be too invalid in the city of 16 million, which claimed that irregularities resulted in a repeat of the elections that Mr Imamoglu won comfortably a few months later.
Since then he has been advertised as a future leader of Turkey who could put an end to the 22 -year -old AKP in power.
Protesters in Istanbul yesterday. Mr. Imamoglu supporters blew over the historic city, in which many hundreds of citizens also gather outside the headquarters of the CHP in Ankara, the capital,
Mr Imamoglu's arrest does not prevent his candidacy and election as president, but if he is convicted of one of the charges against him, he will not be able to run
Moreover, the CHP has won the local elections of 2024 and Erdogan is constitutionally excluded from standing due to term limits, which means that a change of government looks more and more possible.
This has led to the opposition figures challenging the arrests as politically motivated – a statement that has been rejected by the government.
The support for the president among voters is decreasing and remains particularly low in Istanbul.
Only 43 percent of Turkish adults nationally Erdogan – 32 percentage points from 2017, according to a study by the PEW Research Center.
Sentiment was felt when demonstrators went to the streets today to “unite against those who betray democracy and the national.”
“Ekrem Imamoglu grows and gains strength in the eyes of the people,” Bust Gulten said, including, journalists.
Security forces barricaded the streets that led to the police station, with riot police and water cannon cars that blocked the roads while the office of the Governor of Istanbul forbade all public meetings after the detention of Mr Imamoglu.
“We came here to support the mayor. They arrested him unjustly. So we are here to support him, “said Murat Sapankaya, a municipal employee who attends the protest.
Even if the charges are dropped against Mr. Imamoglu, he is confronted with further obstacles on his way to the 2028 elections.
The University of Istanbul last week made the diploma of Mr Imamoglu invalid and effectively disqualified him to walk in the next presidential race.
A university degree is a requirement for running in elections under Turkish law.
The university mentioned alleged irregularities in its 1990 transfer of a private university in the north of Cyprus to its faculty of Business Administration.
Mr. Imamoglu said he would challenge the decision.
In a social media post in English, Mr Imamoglu said that he is determined and not only entrusts myself to the 16 million inhabitants of Istanbul, but also to the 86 million citizens of Turkey.
Support was thrown away beyond the historic city of Istanbul, in which many hundreds of citizens also gather outside the headquarters of the CHP in Ankara, the capital.
Legislers from the party organized a protest within parliament, which disrupted the procedure there before marching.
The Pro-Kurdish Peoples equality and democracy party of Turkey condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of all in custody.
While he was arrested, Ongun, the mayor's assistant, appealed to support on X, although he did not seem to know at the time that the mayor was also taken in detention.
“They think they can remain silent and prevent us from defending and supporting Ekrem Imamoglu,” said Ongun.
'I entrust Ekrem imamoglu to the Turkish nation. Protect, watch over and support him. They can't beat the nation. '
Separately, the police also held a prominent investigative journalist, Ismail Saymaz, for interrogation for interrogation, reported the Halk TV aligned by the opposition.
In the meantime, Internet access interest group Netblocks.org reported on Wednesday that access in Turkey is limited to popular social media platforms.
