Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained early this morning, CNN-Turk reports, BTA reports.
Earlier today, media reported that an arrest warrant had been issued for Imamoglu, a representative of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Police teams searched his home, and CNN-Turk footage showed a heavy police presence outside the mayor's home.
Yesterday, Istanbul University revoked Imamoglu's diploma, which increased public attention to the case.
This morning, the mayor's press attaché was also arrested – Murat Ongun, the opposition newspaper "Cumhuriyet" reports.
According to information from the "Sözcu" newspaper, there is a list of over 100 businessmen and journalists for whom arrest warrants have been issued. Some of the metro stations in Istanbul have been closed, and police leave in the city has been canceled.
A large-scale anti-corruption operation has been launched against the Istanbul mayor's office. According to "A Haber" television, the investigation is related to alleged irregularities in public procurement and suspicions of cooperation between HDP representatives and the terrorist group PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).
The regular presidential elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 2028. In recent months, however, the AKP and other opposition parties have been pushing for early elections, citing the government's inability to deal with economic difficulties and high inflation.
In local elections on March 31 last year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered significant losses, including in key cities such as Istanbul and Ankara. It was the AKP's first national defeat since it came to power in 2002.