Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of bribery and for supporting a terrorist organization. On Sunday, he was arrested, with reference to corruption accusations.
Now the imprisoned opposition leader is shut down from his post as mayor, AFP reports.
The announcement that the Ministry of the Interior is making the decision to set aside the elected mayor Imamoglu in Turkey’s largest city beating down like a bomb, says Tomas Thorén.
– He urges his followers not to lose hope, but continued to go out and demonstrate and show resistance.
There are expected to be large demonstrations in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey tonight, Thorén continues.
– It is believed that this is a politically rigged process where you want to remove Imamoglu as a challenger. It is conceivable that the struggle glow is only strengthened with even larger demonstrations, but it remains to be seen.
As the mayor is also arrested, the opposition is put in a difficult position. It reduces the hope that he could be released because of the pressure from the protests.
Thorén is currently finding it difficult to see him being released.
– We have seen it in previous cases with high -ranking politicians who have been charged with this type of crime that they are imprisoned for many years.
Was arrested on Sunday
During the week, hundreds of thousands of people went out into the streets of Turkey and protested against Imamoglus gripping. The protesters believe that the arrest is politically motivated and a abuse of power.
Imamoglu himself says that the ongoing legal process is not really a process, he writes on X.
“It’s a summary execution,” he writes.
On Sunday, the decision came that Imamoglu should be prosecuted and kept imprisoned pending a trial. In connection with this, he called for continued mass demonstrations.
“I get up, I won’t bend,” he writes on X.
“Street terror”
President Erdogan’s government has described the protests as “street terror” and introduced a demonstration ban and restrictions on the Internet.
Imamoglu is expected to be the opposition party CHP’s candidate in the next election. On Sunday, the party holds primary election where Imamoglu is predicted to win.
Two other district citizens have also been suspended, according to the Ministry of the Interior.