A judge during the morning of March 23 ordered the formal arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu at the request of prosecutors, according to local media reports.

Imamoglu, widely regarded as a real threat to long-ruling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he may be the only politician who could dislodge him from power in a ballot box contest, was detained in an early morning police raid on his Istanbul home on March 19. The move came just days before, on March 23, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was due to select him as its presidential candidate. Each day since has seen mass protests in Istanbul and across Turkey. But Erdogan appears to be under next to no international pressure.

Imamoglu—who was also today dismissed from his position as mayor—was taken to Vatan Street police station in Istanbul’s Aksaray district on the European side, where he was held until the evening of March 22, at which point he was brought to the city’s Caglayan courthouse for interrogation by prosecutors. The courthouse was surrounded by thousands of police and dozens of anti-riot vehicles.

On the afternoon of March 23, Imamoglu was transferred to Silivri prison (officially Marmara Kapali Ceza Infaz Kurumu) in the town of Silivri in Istanbul province. He will await his court hearings there.

As things stand, Imamoglu will not be released any time soon.

Political prisoners in Turkey are generally held at Silivri prison, though exceptions include ex-presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas, who is incarcerated at Edirne prison, located in the Thracian Edirne province on the border with Greece.

Lawsuits conducted by ‘experienced’ personnel

At the Caglayan courthouse, Imamoglu was interrogated according to two prosecutions, one comprising terror charges and the other corruption charges. Observers note the legal process is being conducted by experienced judicial personnel, who have served during prior political operations.

Since March 14, bne IntelliNews has repeated several times: “In 2024, Akin Gurlek was appointed as chief public prosecutor in Istanbul. Journalists, who claim that Gurlek’s job is to conduct operations against Imamoglu, currently seen as a politician that could one day succeed Erdogan, are arrested.”

Herding the media

Istanbul Blog writes: The regime’s judicial personnel have high skills when it comes to herding the media for disinformation purposes. It might be a little tedious to follow, but bear with us as we explain what happened during the court process. It will help in grasping the current disinformation spread by media.

First, the journalists at the courthouse put out information that Imamoglu was formally arrested. Then, they circulated that the prosecutor denied there was a ruling for an arrest in a WhatsApp group for “accredited” journalists.

Headlines stating that the news of Imamoglu’s arrest had been denied followed.

Later on, it was understood that Imamoglu was actually arrested at the corruption hearing—but the prosecutors dealing with the terror charge did not request a second arrest at their hearing, given that the defendant was already under arrest.

The media currently conclude that the no-arrest ruling at the terror hearing suggests that the Istanbul municipality of which Imamoglu is mayor will not be seized.

This is the usual situation with trials in Turkey. If the reporter tries to follow up what is occurring, a disinformation scheme quickly kicks in, disorienting the correspondent who is then not even aware that they are being herded by judicial personnel into some distracting fields.

Will Erdogan seize Istanbul municipality?

To seize the municipality, the Erdogan regime does not need an arrest warrant issued at the terror hearing.

So far, the CHP has kept the municipality building crowded with protesters. It would require considerable force to seize it and thus the municipality. Perhaps, the regime is waiting for the right time to carry out the operation.

Also of interest, of late the Besiktas and Beykoz municipalities were not seized despite their mayors being arrested. Such a course is also an option.

Other arrests

Together with Imamoglu, the CHP mayors of Istanbul’s Sisli and Beylikduzu districts were arrested along with Ali Nuhoglu, owner of Nuhoglu Insaat and Nuhoglu Holding, and Yusuf Ilbak, a member of the Ilbak family that owns Ilbak Holding.

Ilbak Holding chair Murat Ilbak along with board member Mustafa Ilbak and Ali Ilbak were also among the 103 people in all that were detained. So far, there is no information on the current legal status of these three Ilbak family members.

Like Imamoglu, the mayors of Sisli and Belikduzu districts have been dismissed.

So far, a trustee has been appointed to Sisli municipality, meaning it is seized. Trustees have not yet been appointed to the Istanbul and Beylikduzu municipalites. The Ilbak and Nuhoglu companies have not been seized as things stand.

You can catch up with the latest situation as regards seized municipalities and companies in the article here.

* Uzulme/"Don't be sad".