Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev will be part of a delegation of the Eurocities network of major European cities that will visit Istanbul this week to show its support for the city's former mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested in March on corruption charges. This was reported to BTA by the Sofia Municipality.
Mayors from several European countries will visit Istanbul this week to show their support for the former mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu, announced MEP and president of the network of large European municipalities Eurocities Dario Nardella, quoted by the website “Turkish Minute“.
A corruption investigation in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality began in March, when, along with the city's mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a number of municipal employees were detained - an action that triggered a wave of protests, described as the largest in Turkey since 2013.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained on March 19 on corruption charges, is considered the most serious opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On March 23, the court extended his detention, and a few days later, the Istanbul Metropolitan Council removed Imamoglu from his post.