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Democracy Dies in Darkness
Turkish police arrest Istanbul’s mayor, a key Erdogan rival
Police arrested dozens of people, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was expected to be the opposition party’s presidential candidate.
Updated
March 19, 2025 at 5:01 p.m. EDT52 minutes ago
5 min
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu speaks during a rally on Oct. 31. (Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)
By Frances Vinall, Helier Cheung and Sammy Westfall
Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul’s mayor and a high-profile member of the opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested along with dozens of others Wednesday, state-run media reported, in what critics said was a significant escalation of the government’s crackdown on dissent.
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The chief public prosecutor’s office ordered the arrest of about 100 people Wednesday, saying Imamoglu and others faced allegations including membership in criminal organization, bribery, aggravated fraud and unlawful acquisition of personal data. More than 80 people had been detained so far, according to local media reports.
Imamoglu, a popular politician and member of the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, became mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 and won reelection last year in high-profile races where he defeated candidates from Erdogan’s ruling party. He was expected to be selected as the CHP’s candidate for president in the party’s primary elections scheduled for this weekend. The mayorship of Istanbul is seen as a political stepping stone: Erdogan once held the role.
Over two decades in power, Erdogan has tightened his control over state institutions and deepened restrictions on speech and expression, including within the judiciary, bringing charges against and imprisoning opponents. He has also exerted widespread control over the media, universities and other institutions.
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The statement from the prosecutor’s office accused Imamoglu of using his position to lead profit-making schemes, including improperly awarding contracts for government works, and also accused him of aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant Kurdish group considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and others.
Imamoglu denied the allegations against him in a video released on his X account just before his detention and said in a separate social media statement that “the will of the people cannot be silenced through intimidation or unlawful acts.” Ozgur Ozel, leader of the CHP, described the arrest as a “coup attempt against our next president.”
Some of Imamoglu’s close aides and Istanbul’s Sisli and Beylikduzu district mayors were among the arrested, according to Turkish media reports.
Gokhan Gunaydin, lawmaker and the CHP’s group deputy chairman, told The Washington Post that it was not immediately clear whether Imamoglu would be released while under investigation or kept in detention, but that the charges against him were “slanderous,” and “anyone who has a conscience” knows the arrest was politically motivated.
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Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recorded a video message before being detained by police on March 19. (Video: Reuters)
Even in light of Erdogan’s history of state capture and undermining opponents, arresting a candidate imminently poised to become his key challenger signals new territory, said Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a U.S. think tank.
“To me, it shows a level of desperation. … While [Erdogan has] jailed in Imamoglu, he may have inadvertently created his counter political hero,” Cagaptay said.
In jailing Imamoglu, Erdogan has created a story strikingly similar to one that spurred his rise three decades ago. Like Imamoglu, Erdogan was once a popular mayor of Istanbul.
In 1998, Turkey’s secularist political system targeted and jailed then-mayor Erdogan on charges of inciting religious hatred, Cagaptay said. After serving a four-month jail sentence, Erdogan emerged as a “political anti hero” in the eyes of segments of the public, and went on to landslide political victories.
“Because Imamoglu has so many of Erdogan’s qualities, he could easily make a sweepy comeback,” Cagaptay said. “And so I think Erdogan is in trouble and not Imamoglu. Although Imamoglu is the one in jail.”
Speaking at a televised news conference, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the investigation was carried out rigorously and warned against street protests, criticizing those who used “terms such as ‘coup’” to describe the arrests. Erdogan’s communications chief, Fahrettin Altun, wrote on social media that critics were subjecting the president to a “smear campaign.”
Prosecutors have also accused Imamoglu of assisting the PKK through his alleged links to the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), an alliance of left-wing and pro-Kurdish groups. In 2024 local elections the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and the CHP reached an informal agreement by which they avoided directly competing with each other in many constituencies.
Turkey’s next presidential election is scheduled for 2028, and analysts have said Erdogan may look to extend his rule then.
The Turkish lira and stock market plunged after Imamoglu’s arrest. The lira suffered a decline of more than 10 percent, while stocks fell more than 5 percent in value.
Access to multiple social media platforms, including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, appeared to be restricted in Turkey on Wednesday morning, according to cybersecurity monitoring group NetBlocks. Meanwhile, Istanbul’s governor issued a statement Wednesday banning demonstrations for four days, and closed major roads and several metro stations to block any potential protest.
Despite this, supporters of Imamoglu gathered in the streets of Istanbul, protesting near Istanbul University and clashing with police, and protesting outside the CHP headquarters in Ankara, the capital. The Istanbul city council, which was led by Imamoglu, called for a protest outside the municipal building Wednesday evening.
The latest arrests came a day after Imamoglu’s diploma was annulled by Istanbul University, which cited irregularities in Imamoglu’s transfer from a northern Cyprus university more than 30 years ago. The move could effectively block Imamoglu from running in the presidential election, as a university degree is required to compete in elections under Turkish law. The CHP called the annulment a politically motivated move, and Imamoglu is expected to challenge the decision in court.
Imamoglu has been charged in multiple cases and was sentenced in 2022 to more than two years in prison for “insulting public figures.” His appeal in that case is ongoing, according to the Associated Press.
What readers are saying
The comments predominantly express concern over the arrest of Istanbul's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, viewing it as a political move by Erdogan to eliminate a rival. Many commenters draw parallels between Erdogan's actions and what they perceive as similar tendencies in Donald Trump,... Show more
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By Frances Vinall
Frances Vinall is a global breaking news reporter for The Washington Post who is based in Seoul.
By Helier Cheung
Helier Cheung is a breaking news editor for The Washington Post's London hub, covering news as it unfolds in the United States and around the globe during overnight and early morning hours in Washington. Before joining The Post in August 2021, she worked as a news editor and reporter for the BBC in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Washington.follow on X@HelierCheung
By Sammy Westfall
Sammy Westfall is an assistant editor on The Washington Post's Foreign desk.follow on X@sammy_westfall
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