Political opposition leader and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was in Turkish police custody Wednesday, arrested days before being chosen as the presidential candidate for the Republican People’s Party. He said it is an attempt to use security forces “to usurp the will of our nation.” File Photo by Sedat Suna/ EPA-EFE
March 19 (UPI) — Political opposition leader and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was in Turkish police custody Wednesday after he was arrested days before being chosen as the presidential candidate for the Republican People’s Party.
“I’m sorry to say, a handful of minds trying to usurp the will of our nation have used my beloved police officers, the security forces of this country, as instruments of evil, and have gathered hundreds of police officers at the door of my home, the home of 16 million Istanbulites,” Imamoglu said.
“We are facing great bullying, but I want you to know that I will not give up. I love you all so much. I entrust myself to my nation. Let all my nation know that I will stand tall.”
One of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s most powerful political rivals, Imamoglu is accused by prosecutors of alleged corruption and aiding a terrorist group.
His arrest came against a backdrop of a nationwide Turkish crackdown on political opposition figures.
Erdogan’s government rounded up and detained 100 other alleged suspects including journalists, politicians and businessmen.
In other online and social media statements, Imamoglu said “the will of the people cannot be silenced” as he vowed to uphold democracy and justice worldwide by standing firm in a fight for fundamental rights and freedoms.
Erdogan has held political power for 22 years. and critics allege he is an authoritarian.
“The authoritarian and highly centralized presidential government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set back Turkey’s human rights record by decades, targeting perceived government critics and political opponents, profoundly undermining the independence of the judiciary, and hollowing out democratic institutions,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
Istanbul’s prosecutor’s office claimed in a statement that Imamoglu has allegedly aided the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, through a political agreement with the pro-Kurdish People’s Freedom and Democratic Party.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said Imamoglu allegedly helped the PKK, “by knowingly participating in the urban consensus activity, which aimed to increase the effectiveness of the terrorist organization in metropolitan areas, as stated by the management.”
The urban consensus is a political agreement to join together to support the same candidate in several Istanbul municipal election districts.
The political crackdown follows big losses by Erdogan’s party in last year’s local elections, spearheaded by Imamoglu’s opposition party Istanbul mayoral win.