University student wave Turkish national flags as they gather in protest in Besiktas district in Istanbul on March 20, 2025 following Istanbul metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s detention over a corruption probe.
Ozan Kose | Afp | Getty Images
A Turkish court jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Sunday pending trial, state media and other broadcasters said, in a move likely to stoke the country’s biggest protests in more than a decade.
The decision to send Imamoglu — who is President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival — to prison comes after the main opposition party, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticized the actions against him as politicized.
The court said Imamoglu and at least 20 others were jailed as part of a corruption investigation. A separate ruling on a terror-related investigation has yet to be issued.
Political free fall: Turkey faces protests, investor flight after opposition leader’s arrest
Government and politics,Ekrem Imamoglu,Recep Tayyip Erdogan,Breaking News: Politics,Politics,business news
#Turkish #court #jails #Istanbul #mayor #Imamoglu #pending #trial