Erika Malandra Istanbul wakes up with a twist. One that shakes politics, the city, the entire country. Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul, and face of the opposition, was arrested. At dawn. At his house.
Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu arrested: CHP speaks of coup, suspicious timing
The news comes directly from him, Ekrem Imamoglu, con un messaggio su X: “Centinaia di poliziotti alla mia porta.
Hanno fatto irruzione. Ho fiducia nella mia nazione”. Poche parole. Gelide. Poi, il silenzio. I media locali confermano: l’arrest is tied to a corruption investigation. A serious, very serious accusation. But not the only one.
The arrest warrant is clear: “Extortion, corruption, fraud, bid-rigging by a criminal organization.” And again: “Favoring the PKK.” Terrorism. An accusation that weighs like a millstone in Turkey. Imamoglu after being arrested He was taken to police headquarters, one of his aides reports. With him, another hundred people. Collaborators, politicians, even the journalist Ismail Saymaz. A proper raid.
The CHP, the party with which Imamoglu wrested Istanbul from Erdogan twice, does not mince words: “A coup against the national will.” And the timing is suspicious. Just yesterday, Istanbul University annulled his degree, claiming it was fake. Strange. Without a degree, no candidacy for the presidency in 2028. Coincidence? Hard to believe.
Ekrem Imamoglu Arrested in Istanbul: Here's What He Wrote on X Before His Arrest
Ekrem Imamoglu he is not new to clashes with power. In 2022 he had already been sentenced to more than two years in prison for "insult to a public official". A sentence that, in theory, would exclude him from political life. But the appeal is still ongoing. Is it too dangerous to leave him free?
Meanwhile, the city is locked down. The prefecture orders the closure of some metro stations, including Taksim Square. The goal: to avoid protests. And that's not all. Social media is blacked out. X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook: all unreachable. And until March 23, demonstrations and public readings of press releases are prohibited.
Istanbul is tense. The country is holding its breath. Erdogan, so far, is silent. “I will not give up,” Imamoglu writes before being arrested and disappear behind the doors of police headquarters. But how long will he be able to make himself heard?