ANKARA (Sputnik) – A Turkish court has ordered an arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu accused of corruption and assistance to terrorist activity, the Sozcu TV broadcaster reported on Sunday.
Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested as part of a 560 billion Turkish lira ($14.7 billion) corruption and fraud investigation and sent to prison, the television channel said. Moreover, a decision on judicial control was made against Imamoglu in connection with terrorism investigation, the report added.
Imamoglu’s testimony at the prosecutor’s office as part of the investigation was completed yesterday.
The mayor was detained on Wednesday. The opposition politician himself said that he «does not intend to give in» to pressure from the authorities. The detention of Istanbul’s mayor has sparked mass protests, despite authorities tightening security and banning any rallies or demonstrations in the city through Sunday.
Opposition views the developments as an attempt to remove one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rivals from the 2028 presidential election.
