Latest news with #İmamoğlu
Euronews
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Further warrants issued in Turkey's crackdown on Istanbul municipality
Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 22 people on Tuesday as part of a deepening crackdown against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). The development comes two months after Ekrem İmamoğlu, the city's mayor and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's biggest political rival, was arrested pending trial for alleged corruption. Shortly after his arrest along with around 100 others, Turkish police detained more than 50 people in late April on suspicion of charges including bribery and "establishing, managing and being a member of an organisation with the aim of committing a crime". Some of those arrested in April were IBB employees, including the municipality's Bosphorus Zoning Manager Elçin Karaoğlu. In the latest wave of the legal crackdown, arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday morning for 22 people. IBB Press, Publications and Public Relations Department Head Taner Çetin was among them. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), to which İmamoğlu belongs, hit out at the development. CHP Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır said the authorities were targeting heads of departments at the IBB and sending them to prison as part of a broader strategy. "There is a system whose sole aim is to prevent the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from working," he said. Erdoğan has implied that further evidence will surface in the ongoing investigation, saying, "This is the reason for their panic." İmamoğlu has denied any wrongdoing and has called on the Turkish public to fight against "those rotting our state". İmamoğlu was detained on 18 March and was formally arrested on 23 March. The whole process came shortly before he was due to be nominated as the CHP's presidential candidate. İmamoğlu was announced as the CHP's presidential candidate with nearly 15 million party votes on the same day as his arrest. He was then suspended from his post as mayor by the Ministry of Interior. Afterwards, Nuri Aslan, a CHP member of the municipal council, was elected as the acting deputy mayor of Istanbul instead of İmamoğlu. The mass protests triggered by İmamoğlu's arrest turned into the largest demonstrations in several major cities across the country, including Istanbul, in more than a decade. Police responded to the protests with pepper spray, tear gas and water cannons. Russia has released a Greek-owned oil tanker which was was seized on Sunday in Russian waters after leaving a port in Estonia, the Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported. The Liberian-flagged Green Admire is now sailing in the Baltic Sea and is headed for the Dutch port of Rotterdam, according to ERR and the LSEG ship tracking data service. The tanker was seized by Russian authorities after departing from the Estonian port of Sillamäe and using a designated navigation channel that crosses Russian waters, Estonia's foreign ministry said on Sunday. Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that Russia's action against the Green Admire was likely a response to the Estonian navy's campaign against Russia's so-called "shadow fleet", in which it is inspecting tankers used to transport millions of barrels of Russian oil through the Baltic Sea. "(The) incident shows that Russia continues to behave unpredictably," Tsahkna said on Sunday, referring to Moscow's detention of the Green Admire. "I have also informed our allies of the event," he said, referring to other NATO members. To prevent similar incidents in the future, Estonia will redirect marine traffic to and from Sillamäe exclusively through Estonian territorial waters, the foreign ministry said. A Russian fighter jet entered NATO airspace last week after Estonia's navy had intercepted a suspected shadow fleet ship in its waters, according to Tsahkna. Russia's shadow fleet is made up of aging tankers bought used, often by non-transparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries such as the United Arab Emirates or the Marshall Islands, and flagged in places like Gabon or the Cook Islands. The European Union has been targeting the ships, which sometimes also carry stolen Ukrainian grain, with sanctions. In February, 70 vessels believed to be part of the shadow fleet were added to more than 50 already listed. EU foreign ministers are expected to slap sanctions on dozens more imminently.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Istanbul mayor İmamoğlu's X account blocked in Turkey
The X account of the imprisoned and deposed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been blocked in Turkey at the request of the Turkish government. The Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority submitted a request to the criminal court to temporarily block İmamoğlu's account, saying his posts to the public from pre-trial detention "harm public peace," according to a post by X's Global Government Affairs team on the platform on Thursday. The court then ordered the access block, stating that it was not possible to block individual posts. The block is set to remain in place until the end of İmamoğlu's pre-trial detention. İmamoğlu's profile, which is not currently run by the former mayor himself, is still accessible from other countries, with the last post shown from Wednesday. X has lodged an appeal against the decision. "While we have followed Türkiye's order regarding the account, we strongly disagree with the order and are challenging the order in court," the Global Government Affairs team wrote. The company noted that it could face "severe sanctions, including throttling of the entire platform in Türkiye" if it does not comply with the restrictions during its appeal. It added: "We believe keeping the platform accessible in Türkiye is vital to supporting freedom of expression and access to information, particularly following natural disasters and other emergencies." The Istanbul public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation against İmamoğlu based on a post on his X account from April, the communications agency said. The former mayor and rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is accused of publicly inciting a criminal offence. İmamoğlu's arrest and subsequent detention has plunged Turkey into its worst crisis in years. The former mayor was taken into custory on March 19 in connection with corruption and terrorism investigations and is being held in pre-trial detention on corruption charges. Critics accuse the government of using the judiciary to eliminate Erdoğan's main competition. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in regular mass protests since then. On Wednesday, large numbers of people demonstrated again in Istanbul, this time in front of the university that revoked İmamoğlu's decree shortly before his arrest.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Istanbul city officials arrested, weeks after mayor İmamoğlu detained
Several people associated with the city administration of Istanbul have been detained in Turkey in connection with a corruption investigation. The state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday that 50 people were taken into custody during operations in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara and Tekirdag. A total of 53 suspects were ordered to be arrested. The state broadcaster TRT reported that those arrested include the chief secretary of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained on March 19. İmamoğlu's bodyguard and the director of the Istanbul waterworks were also among those detained. Observers have expressed considerable doubts about the substance of the evidence against İmamoğlu. He faces charges in connection with corruption and terrorism investigations, which he has comprehensively rejected. The authorities' move against him is widely seen in Turkey as politically motivated, as İmamoğlu is considered a prominent challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a future election.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Further arrests in Istanbul, weeks after mayor İmamoğlu detained
Several people associated with the city administration of Istanbul have been detained in Turkey in connection with a corruption investigation. The state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday that 48 people were taken into custody during operations in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara and Tekirdag. A total of 53 suspects were ordered to be arrested. The state broadcaster TRT reported that those arrested include the chief secretary of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained on March 19. İmamoğlu's bodyguard and the director of the Istanbul waterworks were among those detained. Observers have expressed considerable doubts about the substance of the evidence against İmamoğlu. He faces charges in connection with corruption and terrorism investigations, which he has comprehensively rejected. The authorities' move against him is widely seen in Turkey as politically motivated, as İmamoğlu is considered a prominent challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a future election.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dozens of people appear in court following banned demos in Turkey
Almost 200 people are on trial in connection with the protests following the arrest of opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu in Istanbul last month, including eight journalists. The 189 defendants are accused of violating the ban on demonstrations and gatherings. Among the journalists is a photographer from the French news agency AFP, the Turkish lawyers' association MLSA wrote on X on Friday. A demand by the lawyers at the start of the trial for an immediate acquittal was denied. The court decided to separate the case of the journalists and some lawyers from the main proceedings. Many of the defendants are students. Countless demonstrators were detained during the protests. The arrest of İmamoğlu, who was mayor of Istanbul, and who is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's most prominent political rival, plunged Turkey into its biggest domestic crisis in years. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in mass protests against the government, despite a ban on demonstrations and gatherings in many cities.
