The protests broke out on Wednesday after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamolu, in a raid made at dawn in their residence, while the authorities proceed to the arrest of the communication workers in their homes.
Sunday at the beginning, a court ordered the formal and subsequent imprisonment of the mayor of IstanbulEkrem Imamoglu, pending the result of a test for corruption accusations. The prosecutor’s office reported that the Court he had decided the imprisonment of Imamoglu as suspicious of directing a criminal organization, accepting tangents, extortion, illegally registering personal data and love races.
On the other hand, the judges They rejected the request to imprison the mayor of Istanbul for the accusations relating to terrorismalthough it is still pursued. Lawyers accuse Ekrem Imamoglu of helping the outlaw Kurdistan Worlds Party (PKK).
The Court claimed that “although there are strong suspicions that Imamoglu helps an armed terrorist organization, His arrest for this reason is not considered necessary at this timesince it was decided to arrest him for financial crimes. “
The mayor of Istanbul was transferred to Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, after the court sentence. Another 47 people were also imprisoned next to Imamoglu, waiting for trial. Among these, a key assistant and two district mayors, Murat Calik and Emrah şahan, who represent the districts of Beylikdüzü and Sisli, in Istanbul.
The Ministry of the Interior subsequently announced that Ekrem Imamoglu had been suspended from its functions as a “temporary measure”. In the meantime, Its replacement will be decided through the internal elections in the municipal councilswhere the Republican Party of the people (CHP), of Imamoglu, has a majority.
Protests continue for the fifth consecutive night
A The multitude of citizens gathered in front of the municipal council of Istanbul to protestFor the fifth consecutive night, from the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu last Wednesday. Thousands of people participated in the events daily To request the immediate release of the mayor of the largest city in Türkiye and accuse President Recke Tayyip Erdogan of deliberately attacking Imamoglu for political reasons.
The CHP politician, considered a key rival of Erdogan, was expected to be designated on Sunday Presidential candidate of his party in the first primary of political training. The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2028.
The demonstrators launched rockets and stones against the anti -Somemossa police units unfolded in the area. Police he replied using pepper gas to disperse the crowd. The arrests occur one day after hundreds of thousands of people protest before the court in which the Imamog was questioned on Saturday.
The Interior Minister of Turkey Ali Yerlikaya, says that 323 people were arrested in Saturday’s protests, while Promises a “zero tolerance” policy For those who threaten “the peace and security of the people” and “cause or encourage chaos”.
Erdogan president counterattack
Saturday, a few hours before Imamoglu was formally arrested by the courts, Reck Tayyip Erdogan approached the internal crisis that was developed in the country. In his speech in an IFTAR, Muslim food of fasting rupture during the sacred month of RamadanErdogan asked the CHP not to press Turkish justice while investigating the possible crimes of those involved in the investigation into corruption and terrorism.
“If you have value, let democracy and law work. If you have value, let the courts make their decisions On behalf of the Turkish nation without any pressure, “said Erdogan.
Him Turkish president He also shot the party accusing him of incitement to violence and anarchy. So, he reiterated that nobody in Türkiye is outside the reach of the law and added it No “privileged minority” has the freedom to commit crimes. He also promised not tolerance with the members of the CHP that alter the civic order and inspire useless divisions between the 86 million inhabitants of the nation.
“Do what the opposition does, we will not discuss common sense, patience and peace. Our municipalities will serve the people without falling into corruption,” he said. Erdogan also criticized the party and its president, Özgür Özel, stressing that the CHP It will not be considered a political party until it gets rid of “thieves and looters”As he raises the political formation of being directed by a dome “blinded by money”.
“Özel shouldn’t look away from thieves. They are around them,” said Erdogan. The Turkish president also challenged the CHP to respond directly to the accusations of the case, Instead of resorting to populist rhetoric to encourage chaos. “They cannot respond to the accusations of the case. So, they try to distract people. They are very aware that they will come to the most made light.”
CHP primaries include “solidarity votes”
THE formal detention At the time it occurred that over 1.7 million members of the opposite party CHP began to keep primary presidential elections to support Imamoglu, a single candidate. Political training has also installed symbolic urns throughout the country so that People who are not party members can express their support for the mayor of Istanbul. Great crowds of citizens gathered on Sunday early to express a “solidarity vote”.
ADVERTISING“This is no longer just a problem of the republican popular party, but a problem of Turkish democracy,” said Füsun Erben, 69, in an electoral school in the Kadiköy district, in Istanbul. “We do not accept that our rights are usurped so easily. We will fight until the end“He added.
At the time of the protest on Sunday evening, the count of the votes had reached about 15 million people, of whom About more than 13 million corresponded to people without political affiliationwho voted in solidarity with the prisoner.
In a publication on social networks, Imamoglu praised the result from Silivri’s prison, writing that people had told Erdogan: enough now! “The polls will come and The nation will slap the administration that will never forget“He said.
Ekrem criminal history İmamoğlu
Before his arrest, Imamog had already faced more criminal cases that could transport sentences to prison and a political ban. At the moment, A sentence of 2022 is tempting For offensive members of the supreme electoral council of Türkiye.
ADVERTISINGAt the beginning of the week, the University of Istanbul canceled its diploma, claiming irregularities in its transfer in 1990, from a private university in the north of Cyprus. The decision to maintain, He would have prevented him from showing up in the elections The presidency, from the position, according to Turkish legislation, requires that candidates have superior studies. This decision is also foreseen.
National and international reactions to the arrest warrant
“Sincerely, We are ashamed on behalf of our legal system“Mansur Yavaş said to the press after mitigating his vote. Furthermore, the mayor of Ankara, a companion of Imamoglu places himself in the CHP, criticized the lack of confidentiality of the process.
The leader of the CHP, Özgür Özel said Imamogu’s captivity He remembered the “Italian mafia methods”. Speaking to the City Council of Istanbul, he added: “Imamoglu On the one hand it is in prison and, on the other, the road to the presidency“.
The Council of Europe focused on the promotion of human rights and democracy, mounted the decision and requested the immediate liberation of the prisoner. The German government He described the captivity of the mayor of “serious setback for democracy in Türkiye”And he added that “political competition should not be conducted with courts and prisons”.
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