İstanbul’s powerful mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, remained in police custody Thursday over graft and terrorism allegations after his detention the day before, as his party called for more protests in Turkey’s largest city, Agence France-Presse reported.
İmamoğlu, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival. His detention came just days before the party was expected to name him as its candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
Financial markets in Turkey fell shortly afterwards in what analysts said indicates investors’ serious concerns that the arrest was politically motivated.
CHP leader Özgür Özel is expected to address supporters outside İstanbul’s City Hall at 1730 GMT on Thursday, a party spokesman told AFP.
The governor has banned all protests in İstanbul for four days.
A large number of police officers joined the pre-dawn raid on İmamoğlu’s home in İstanbul on Wednesday, he posted on X before being taken away, with the authorities then blocking access to social media networks.
Access to the internet and social media were still slow early Thursday.
Thousands of angry protesters gathered outside City Hall late on Wednesday, chanting “Erdoğan, dictator!” and “Government, resign!”
Already facing an array of legal battles, the two-time İstanbul mayor is now under investigation for “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization” — namely the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
He is also being investigated for “bribery, extortion, corruption, aggravated fraud and illegally obtaining personal data for profit as part of a criminal organization” along with around 100 other suspects.
Özel, the party leader who traveled from Ankara to İstanbul immediately after the detention, branded it a “coup” as he attended Wednesday night’s protest.
“İmamoğlu’s only crime was that he was taking the lead in opinion polls, his only crime was that he won the hearts of the people. His only crime was he would be the next president,” he said.
Hamish Kinnear, a senior analyst with risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said the detention had sparked “a heightened risk of civil unrest, which the government appears to have anticipated by introducing a four-day ban on protests in Istanbul.”
The Turkish lira fell sharply after İmamoğlu’s detention, trading at 37.99 to the dollar on Thursday morning.