Turkish police on Friday detained 29 people as part of an investigation into corruption allegations at the opposition-run İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, state media reported.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been imprisoned for over a year and is accused of running a large criminal network.
İmamoğlu is currently on trial along with 413 co-defendants. If convicted, he faces 2,430 years in prison.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the “activities of a criminal organization established under the leadership of Ekrem İmamoğlu,” the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing a statement from the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors issued detention warrants for 30 suspects. Twenty-nine were taken into custody, while one is abroad, the report said.
The suspects are accused of manipulating public tenders through a municipal subsidiary.
İmamoğlu and his supporters accuse the Turkish government of seeking to prevent him from challenging President Erdoğan in the next presidential election, scheduled for 2028.
© Agence France-Presse