İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is set to appear before prosecutors on Saturday, after spending a third night in police custody, as protests continue nationwide in a major challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
It marked the third straight night of protests against the detention of İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main political rival. His initial detention early Wednesday triggered the largest street protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade.
Security forces detained 97 people after clashes Friday night in İstanbul, Ankara and the western city of İzmir, where police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse crowds, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Local media reported that police carried out raids on dozens of homes overnight, although the total number of detentions was not immediately confirmed.
The 53-year-old mayor, detained just days before the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was expected to nominate him as its candidate for the 2028 presidential election, was speaking to police Saturday morning in connection with a terrorism investigation, party sources told Agence France-Presse.
He was scheduled to appear before prosecutors at Çağlayan Courthouse at 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) for questioning in the terrorism investigation as well as a corruption probe, the sources said.
İmamoğlu, who won re-election in 2023 with a strong mandate, faces allegations along with six others of “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization,” referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.
He is also under investigation for bribery, extortion, corruption, aggravated fraud and illegally obtaining personal data for profit as part of an alleged criminal organization involving 99 other suspects.
Quizzed for six hours
İmamoğlu was questioned for six hours Friday about the corruption allegations, the CHP said.
“Mr. İmamoğlu denies all the charges against him,” his lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan said.
“The detention was aimed at undermining Mr. İmamoğlu’s reputation in the eyes of society,” Pehlivan posted on X early Saturday. He said the investigations were “based on untrue allegations” and “a violation of the right to a fair trial.”
Demonstrations were expected to continue Saturday night across the country.
In a message posted on X through his legal team, İmamoğlu said he was “honored and proud” of the demonstrators who rallied in more than 50 of Turkey’s 81 provinces. He said they were “protecting our republic, our democracy, the future of a just Turkey and the will of our nation.”
Addressing the crowds outside İstanbul City Hall on Friday night, CHP leader Özgür Özel said 300,000 people had gathered in defiance of a protest ban and a stern warning from Erdoğan that the government would not tolerate “street terror.”
The crowd responded with cheers, waving flags and chanting, “Don’t stay silent or it will be you next.”
The detention of İmamoğlu shook Turkey’s financial markets. The benchmark BIST 100 index on the İstanbul Stock Exchange fell nearly 8 percent on Friday.
© Agence France-Presse