A Turkish court has issued a new official arrest warrant for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is already in prison, News.bg reports.
According to information from “Reuters“ and the Anadolu Agency, this time the charges against him are related to alleged “political espionage”, which further exacerbates tensions between the government and the opposition.
Imamoglu, one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political opponents, has been detained since March in a separate corruption case. In July, he received a new conviction for insulting and threatening the Istanbul chief prosecutor. The mayor has categorically denied all the charges and claims they are motivated entirely by political interests.
In his latest statement from prison on Friday, Imamoglu rejected the new allegations, saying:
“Such slander, lies and conspiracy would not even cross the mind of the devil! We are faced with a shameless act that cannot be described in words.“
The arrest warrant, issued by an Istanbul court, also targets two other people - among them Merdan Yanardag, editor-in-chief of the Tele1 television channel, known for his critical stance towards the government. The channel itself was nationalized on Friday after being accused of espionage.
According to the new court ruling, Imamoglu is accused of using donor funds for his political campaign and seeking external support from foreign countries, which authorities interpret as a form of espionage.
Meanwhile, hundreds of members of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition force led by Imamoglu, are also facing prosecution for alleged corruption. The party says the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to eliminate a threat to Erdogan's rule, while the government strongly denies these allegations.
Despite the increased repression, the opposition received some relief after another court overturned an attempt to remove the CHP leader and cancel the party's 2023 congress.