Turkish authorities ordered the detention of several opposition party members in Istanbul and raided opposition-run municipalities yesterday, state media said. That was part of a widening legal crackdown against the opposition and city’s jailed mayor.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is also Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival and leads him in some polls, was jailed in March pending trial over charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, all of which he denies.
The arrest of the mayor, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), triggered mass protests, economic turmoil and broad accusations of government influence over the judiciary and anti-democratic applications. The government denies this and says the judiciary is independent.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Since Imamoglu’s arrest, authorities have detained dozens of CHP members, officials from the Istanbul municipality, and other CHP-run municipalities. Access to Imamoglu’s X account was also blocked in Turkey this month.
Anadolu news agency and private broadcaster NTV reported yesterday that detention warrants had been issued for 47 people in four separate graft investigations, with 28 of those being detained.
Among those detained was former CHP lawmaker Aykut Erdogdu, the mayors of several districts in Istanbul, senior staff at the Istanbul municipality or institutions tied to it and the mayors of two districts in the southern province of Adana, Anadolu reported.
Police also searched the buildings of the Avcilar, Buyukcekmece, Gaziosmanpasa, Seydan and Ceyhan municipalities, whose mayors were ordered detained as part of the probe, it said.
In response to the new wave of detentions, the CHP called an emergency meeting in Istanbul, NTV reported.
Some Western countries, rights groups and the CHP have said repeatedly that the operations are anti-democratic and aimed at quashing the opposition’s electoral prospects.
Imamoglu and his CHP have said there is no concrete evidence against him.
Opinion polls showed that popular support for Imamoglu has risen since his arrest, extending his lead over Erdogan and reinforcing the view that he would be Erdogan’s main rival in the next presidential election, which is not due until 2028.
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
RSS