Turkish authorities have detained President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, as part of an investigation into corruption and terror links, according to media reports.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors also issued warrants for around 100 other people, including businessmen and journalists.
Imamoglu was detained early Wednesday and taken to police headquarters, his aide was cited by the French AFP and German DPA news agencies as saying.
Local broadcasters reported that police raided his Istanbul home at dawn as part of a probe.
Authorities have banned demonstrations in Istanbul for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest. The Netblocks internet observatory said early Wednesday that Turkey had also restricted access to multiple social media platforms.
Turkish opposition expands into Erdogan strongholds
Imamoglu stripped of diploma
Imamoglu’s detention comes a day after Istanbul University announced it was revoking his university diploma over irregularities — dealing a major blow to his ambition to run for president in the country’s next election.
To run for president, a candidate must have a university degree.
The university said it was declaring the graduations and degrees of 28 people, including Imamoglu, as being “void” because of “obvious error.”
Imamoglu seen as a top contender to Erdogan
Imamoglu, a popular opposition politician from the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP), was set to be nominated as his party’s pick for presidential candidate this weekend.
Imamoglu has twice been elected mayor of Istanbul, in 2019 and 2023, beating candidates from Erdogan’s ruling conservative Justice and Development (AKP) party.
The mayoral race in Istanbul has particular resonance since Erdogan launched his political career there, serving as mayor in the 1990s.
Erodgan has dominated Turkish politics since becoming prime minister in 2003 and must hold elections before they are scheduled in 2028 if he wants to run again under the constitution.
What does Istanbul mayor Imamoglu’s win mean for Erdogan?
How did Imamoglu react?
In a post to his X account, Imamoglu said he would not give up.
“The will of the people cannot be silenced through intimidation or unlawful acts,” he wrote. “I stand resolute … I stand firm in my fight for the fundamental rights and freedoms.”
CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel denounced Imamoglu’s detention, saying it amounted to “an attempted coup against our next president.”
Human Rights Watch also condemned the detention, calling for the mayor’s immediate release.
In comments to the Reuters news agency, the organization’s Turkey director Emma Sinclair-Webb called it a “flagrant abuse of the justice system” and part of a “pattern of politically motivated investigations” aimed at undermining the opposition.
Erdogan’s government has denied targeting its opponents and says the country’s judiciary is independent.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery and Louis Oelofse