Turkey Bans Images of Jailed Istanbul Mayor in Growing Crackdown
Turkey banned the use of images depicting jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and detained dozens of municipality staff, escalating a standoff with the opposition that's unsettled investors.
The announcement by the Istanbul prosecutor's office covers all visual depictions and sound recordings of the mayor, a prominent opposition figure and potential presidential contender, in the city. Police also detained at least 44 people in a new round of raids as part of a corruption investigation into the municipality, local media reported.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former Israeli Navy chief: Handling of Gaza flotilla incident was a 'diplomatic failure'
The Gaza Flotilla was "a completely unnecessary event that should have ended as a diplomatic event," the former Navy commander said. The Madleen Gaza Freedom Flotilla was "a completely unnecessary event that should have ended as a diplomatic event," former Navy Commander Major General (res.) Eliezer "Chiny" Marom said on Monday during an interview. "It's not a military event; it's entirely a diplomatic event. Ultimately, we failed in this regard, and the ship set out from the shores of Sicily and arrived here. Therefore, the last barrier before breaking the maritime security blockade was carried out by the Navy," Marom said. "The whole event is entirely civilian; it's not a military event," he continued. "We have dealt with many such events - some of which you may not even know about, as they never made headlines over the years - and we failed with this one. After the Mavi Marmara incident in 2011, a flotilla of 20 ships was organized; we acted diplomatically and legally in various ways, and ultimately, not a single one reached the shores of Israel." "We imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip. That blockade was imposed in December 2009, if I'm not mistaken. It's a blockade recognized by the whole world, and it means something very simple - a country has a right to defend itself; it imposes a blockade, and it must be enforced equally on everyone," Marom said. "If you allow one ship in, then everyone can enter. Meaning, if someone says, "Let's allow this ship to enter," then there's no longer a blockade. To stop that ship, you need the blockade itself. If you cancel that blockade, within three months Iranian ships will be in Gaza - and you don't want that to happen," he added. Regarding the Madleen incident, "I don't think the world is too excited about this," Maron said. "There have already been flotillas since the Marmara incident, and we handled them just fine. The Navy knows how to learn lessons and take things seriously. I want to commend the fighters who did an outstanding job."
CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Ex-Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do sentenced to 5 years in prison for bribery
Former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who pleaded guilty last year to taking bribes and directing COVID-19 relief funds to a nonprofit where his daughter worked, was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison. Do resigned his seat on the board as part of a 2024 plea deal where he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. The 62-year-old received the maximum five-year sentence. Between 2020 and 2024, Do "used his position as the supervisor for Orange County's First District to steer millions of dollars to his personal associates in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes," prosecutors said in their sentencing brief. The supervisor took bribes to cast votes that funneled more than $10 million in county contracts to the Viet America Society, where his daughter Rhiannon worked. After going to the nonprofit, monthly payments were made to his daughter, totaling $224,000 by 2024. She used that money to buy a $1 million home in Tustin and Do and his family received more than $700,000 in bribe payments, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Do used the money to pay property taxes and to pay credit card debt. "The scheme essentially functioned like Robin Hood in reverse. Mr. Do and his conspirators stole money from the poor to give to themselves," former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said earlier. The prosecution argued that Do should receive harsher punishment for his corruption, as such crimes are "an assault on the very legitimacy of government." "The scheme was far-reaching and premeditated, and the defendant had no qualms about pulling others into his criminal enterprise, including his own children," prosecutors said. Also on Monday, a new co-defendant in the case, 61-year-old Thanh Huong Nguyen of Santa Ana, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and concealment of money laundering. Nguyen operated the Hand to Hand Relief Organization. Do's associate Peter Anh Pham, 65, of Garden Grove, who ran VAS, was also indicted on single counts each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud bribery and six counts each of wire fraud and concealment of money laundering. Pham's whereabouts are unknown and federal prosecutors say he is considered a fugitive. Do's attorney, Paul Meyer, released an apology statement on his behalf following the announcement of his plea deal last year. "It is appropriate to convey Andrew Do's sincere apology and deep sadness to his family, to his constituents and District 1, and to his colleagues," the statement read. Do's attorneys continued to detail the former supervisor's remorse. "He has watched the complete destruction of his career, reputation, his life and that of his family," his attorneys said. "…In short, Andrew Do's life has been destroyed by his own acts."
CBS News
9 hours ago
- CBS News
Former Maryland State trooper sentenced to 6 years for selling information to drug dealer
A former Maryland State trooper was sentenced to six years in federal prison for selling information to a drug distributor, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office. Former trooper Justin Riggs, 35, was part of a Maryland State Police (MSP) group that investigated drug and gun trafficking in western Maryland. Former Maryland State trooper conspires with drug distributor In December 2022, Riggs created a fake Facebook account to contact a drug distributor. During his communication with the distributor, Riggs said he worked "for a fed agency" and that he had "tons more info" about the distributor's biggest informant, court officials said. Riggs initiated several conversations with the distributor between 2022 and 2023 in an attempt to sell the informant's identity, at one point saying, "You don't have to play innocent to me. [I don't care] about that. I'm just trying to get paid. But there's a big case that's going on. I'm here to work with you." On December 22, 2022, the distributor messaged Riggs to say he was no longer going to participate in trafficking. Riggs responded by asking if the distributor had anyone that would be interested in an "Info for money exchange type of thing?" court documents showed. He later informed the distributor about a tracker on his truck and offered additional help. "Did you pull the tracker off? I can help you by telling you how deep the investigation is. How to make it go away, who your snitch is that's setting y'all up, and when your phone will be tapped," Riggs said to the distributor. By January 2023, Riggs started to negotiate a price for information with the distributor, saying, "If you make the 1500 drop then I'll just give ya the rest of the info and you can make the 300 drop," according to court records. By January 5, 2023, court documents detailed how a person picked up the $1,5000 for Riggs at an agreed-upon location. Riggs later confirmed that he received the money. Riggs resigned from MSP after his arrest in 2023, according to our partners at the Baltimore Banner. Riggs in court on bribery charges The Banner reported that the prosecution pushed for a nine-year sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Delaney argued that Riggs sold the informant's information to a violent drug trafficking organization so it could kill the source. He further argued that Riggs wanted to establish a relationship with the drug dealers so they would continue to operate. Riggs' attorneys argued for a four-year sentence, saying Riggs "led an unblemished life" before the incident. According to the Banner, Riggs was one of the first officers to respond to the 2018 shooting at the Capital Gazette, where five people were shot and killed. His attorneys argued he was impacted by psychological trauma, financial pressure and exposure to a hazardous chemical due to burning drugs seized by police. Riggs pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy to distribute drugs, among other charges. He was sentenced to six years in federal prison and three years of probation, court officials said.
