Turkiye court charges jailed opposition leader with ‘political espionage’

Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition leader, has been charged in a new Turkish court. His arrest in March sparked widespread anti-government protests.

The Istanbul mayor’s arrest on Monday comes as part of an investigation launched last week into alleged ties to a businessman who was detained in July for carrying out intelligence operations for foreign governments.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

The allegations are a result of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) ongoing crackdown on the opposition.

The government of Turkiye rejects this claim and insists that the opposition’s involvement in corruption and other illegal activities is directly at the heart of the charges and investigations.

Imamoglu was detained in March on corruption charges, sparking widespread protests, and he was given a jail sentence in July for insulting and threatening the chief Istanbul prosecutor.

Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, is suspected of transferring personal information from Istanbul residents as part of an effort to secure international funding for his presidential campaign, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Imamoglu has denied all of the allegations, both in court and on social media.

The devil wouldn’t even consider such a slander, lie, and conspiracy! he authored an X-. We are dealing with an unethical behavior that cannot be adequately described.

Necati Ozkan, a former campaign manager for Imamoglu, and Merdan Yanardag, the television news channel’s editor-in-chief, were also charged.

The state took control of the state-run program on Friday, citing the espionage allegations.

arrest waves

As Imamoglu was being interrogated by the prosecution, hundreds of supporters gathered on Sunday outside Istanbul’s main courthouse. He had not left Istanbul’s Marmara Prison, which is located just outside the city, in seven months.

Critics see his arrest and the subsequent additional accusations as part of a wider crackdown on the opposition, which gained significantly in the elections last year.

CHP mayors and municipalities have been the subject of numerous arrests for corruption-related offenses throughout the year.

Erdogan has refuted allegations of judiciary-related political interference.