Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the leading prospective election opponent of authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was ordered jailed by a judge yesterday.
Imamoglu stands to be in custody for weeks or months as he faces trial on ginned-up corruption and terrorism charges.
His conviction would derail his bid to unseat Erdogan, but his Republican People’s Party’s Turkish abbr: CHP) stuck with its plan to nominate him as its presidential candidate yesterday.
Dealing the charismatic Imamoglu another blow, the Interior Ministry yesterday suspended him as mayor of Istanbul, a position he was elected to in 2019 in a jarring rebuke to Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (Turkish abbr: AKP).
CHP members and other opponents of Erdogan have staged daily protests in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other cities since Imamoglu’s arrest on Wednesday.
The demonstrations mostly have been peaceful and some have attracted tens of thousands of people.
But there have been skirmishes between protesters and riot police, leading to hundreds of arrests.
Demonstration bans and closures of key transport hubs have failed to stop Imamoglu supporters from taking to the streets.
The next presidential election is scheduled for 2028 but is expected to be called early by Erdogan so that he can get around term limits.
Imamoglu had been leading Erdogan in some polls.
Turkish stocks and the lira, the national currency, have plunged since Imamoglu’s arrest.
Erdogan has run Turkey since 2003 by repeatedly bending the constitution to keep himself in power.
He recently has stepped up arrests of opposition politicians, journalists, activists, entrepreneurs and other foes.
Personnel should give wide berth to street protests and seek indoor shelter immediately in the event of unrest nearby.
Personnel should be aware of the fierce political intrigue that Turkish colleagues and acquaintances must deal with and strictly should avoid discussion of politics, foreign affairs or religion with locals of all descriptions.
