Erdogan’s main competitor in Türkiye in Imamoglu in the first appearance of the court since arrest

The mayor of Istanbul, Akram Emamoglu, who was his largest competitor in Türkiye, appeared to President Reib Tayeb Erdogan, before the court for the first time since his arrest last month and put him in a high security prison.

Imamoglu was held on charges of corruption and terrorism, but he appeared in a special court in Silveri prison in a separate case on Friday, accused of trying to intimidate the prosecutors in Istanbul.

Türkiye’s opposition condemned the arrest of Imamoglu as a “coup attempt against our next president” and pushing his detention to the largest anti -Erdogan protest for more than a decade.

“I am here because I won the elections three times in Istanbul,” Imamoglu told the court.

“I am here to be arrested because I won against the concept of” who wins in Istanbul, Türkiye wins. “

Imamoglu has been referring to President Erdogan, who launched his political career as the pillar of the largest city in Türkiye and has often used this phrase since then.

The crowds gathered outside the complex to support the mayor of Istanbul, whose detention was widely considered as political motives. The Parliamentary Assembly in the Council of Europe called on the Turkish authorities to drop the charges and its release immediately.

However, the government of Türkiye rejected the demands of political intervention, as it insists that the judiciary is independent.

On Friday, 53 -year -old mayor faced the risk of imprisonment and a policy ban.

The first case, which claims the threats filed against the chief public prosecutor in Istanbul, Akin Gorlik, was postponed after the arrest of a province’s mayor, until June.

Gorik, former Deputy Minister of Justice, was accused during the reign of Erdogan, by opposing the behavior as a “mobile guillotine” of the president in targeting his opponents in Istanbul.

On Friday, no two cases were linked to his arrest on March 19 on suspicion of managing a criminal organization and blackmail, but the prosecutors are seeking prison for up to seven years and four months of the Gurlek case.

Imamoglu was also criticizing the Turkish broadcaster TRT, who said it was funded by citizens ’taxes and” this session should be broadcast instead of reporting lies and defamation to discredit me. “

His wife Delik attended the session with one of their children and several deputies.

It has played a prominent role in the protests that have swept Türkiye since the arrest of IMamoglu, and more gatherings are planned for the coming days and weeks.

The protests were accompanied by about 2000 arrests.

In the past two days, the courts in Istanbul have launched or released at a guarantee of 185 people who participated in demonstrations against the detention of mayor in Sarashhan, Istanbul.

Two journalists working in supporting newspapers were released on Friday to investigate the sale of a television station.

A newspaper, Cumhuriyet, said that their arrest was part of a plan to intimidate the media and critics of the government.

The opposition accused the prosecutors of targeting elected officials in an attempt to cancel any opposition votes before the national elections.

The presidential elections are not due in Türkiye until 2028 and without a change in the constitution, Erdogan will not be entitled to stand for another period.

However, it can also run if Parliament calls the early elections.