The court ordered Imamoguru, President Erdogan’s major rival, and was jailed awaiting the outcome of a trial on the charges of corruption.
A Turkish court officially placed Mayor Ekrem Imamoguru, who has been arrested on trial on corruption charges a few days after his detention sparked mass protests across the country.
The court said on Sunday that Imamoguru and at least 20 people were jailed as part of a corruption investigation. A court in Istanbul did not file a “terror” charge against the 53-year-old imprisoned mayor.
“There is a strong suspicion of supporting an armed terrorist group, but (his arrest) is not deemed necessary at this stage, as he has already been decided to be arrested for financial crimes.”
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Kosegur, who reported from Istanbul, said several others accused had been released to court.
The court cannot appoint a government trustee to Istanbul, the largest city in the country, as the “terrorist” accusations were not slapped by Imamoguru. The mayor will be elected within the city council, Kosegur said.
“Good news for the major opposition parties [Republican People’s Party (CHP)]controls the majority of the city council,” she said.
“Don’t bow.”
In his first response after the court’s ruling, Imamoguru said he would not resign.
“We hold hands and uproot this blow, this black stain of our democracy… I’m tall and I won’t bow,” the mayor of Istanbul said in an X post.
The mayor, a major opposition figure and a potential challenger to longtime President Recept Tayyip Erdogan, was detained by the government on allegations of corruption and terrorism on Wednesday.
Imamoguru denied all the accusations and described them as part of the “smear campaign.”
Imamoguru ally, Ankara mayor Mansoor Yabas, told reporters that imprisonment is a dishonest of the judicial system.
The court’s decision to send Imamoguru to pre-trial detention comes after opposition parties, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticized him for politicizing his actions.
The government has denied that the incident is politically motivated.
On Saturday, President Erdogan denounced CHP’s leadership that “has become a device to exempt robberies from a few city robberies who have been blinded to money.”
He also accused him of “doing everything to disrupt the peace of the people and polarize the nation.”
Security measures have been tightened
Koseoglu of Al Jazeera said security measures will be tightened in Istanbul starting Saturday evening and hopes for more protests on Sunday.
“Demonstration continues last night, including Istanbul, Ankara and around 50 other cities, despite the protest ban extended until March 26th.”
Police said at least 300,000 people protested in Istanbul on Saturday night. However, the opposition claimed that the number was close to one million. Al Jazeera could not confirm the number the opposition claimed.
The court’s decision on Sunday is also as opposition CHP members and others head to the polling station for the primary to select candidates for the upcoming presidential election scheduled for 2028.
Imamoguru is likely to be selected as a candidate for the CHP, but his plan to stand in the next election has been hurt after Istanbul University invalidated his diploma last week and cited the misconduct of the Council of Higher Education. Under the Turkish constitution, presidential candidates must obtain a degree in higher education.
The CHP is asking non-party members to vote to boost public resistance after Imamoguru’s detention.
With over 1.5 million members, CHP has set up 5,600 ballot boxes to vote for all of Turkiye’s 81 states. The poll will close at 14:00 GMT.
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