Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu detained in major crackdown on municipality

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu has reportedly been detained as part of an extensive investigation into the municipality, with police conducting searches at his residence. His press advisor, Murat Ongun, has also been taken into custody.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that a detention warrant had been issued for 100 individuals, including Imamoğlu, whom authorities have referred to as a "suspected criminal organisation leader", Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media. 

Other high-profile figures named in the warrant include Ongun, Tuncay Yılmaz, Fatih Keleş, Ertan Yıldız, and 95 others linked to the municipality.

The investigation, led by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, reportedly centres on Medya A.Ş. and the “Urban Consensus” project.

In the early hours of the morning of March 19, police arrived at Imamoğlu’s residence with approximately 20 law enforcement vehicles deployed to the scene. CHP Istanbul MP Turan Taşkın Özer described a significant police presence outside the mayor’s home.

“Twenty vehicles full of law enforcement officers arrived at the residence of our Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu in the early hours of the morning, and he is being detained. I am on my way to our President, and I will share developments moment by moment. We will follow this process with great care,” Özer stated.

Journalist Ceylan Sever reported that the operation extends beyond Imamoğlu and Ongun, with detention orders issued for a total of 105 individuals. Among those detained is Necati Özkan, Imamoğlu’s election campaign director.

The large-scale operation, led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, reportedly involves an estimated 3,000 police officers.

Imamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and a former presidential candidate for the Republican People’s Party (CHP), had recently faced legal scrutiny. Just a day before the raid, authorities annulled his university diploma, raising concerns among opposition supporters about the timing of the investigation.

By Tamilla Hasanova