Türkiye Prison Istanbul Maire who was to come to the presidency

On Sunday, a Turkish court imprisoned the mayor of Istanbul pending his trial for corruption, according to the Anadolu news agency led by the State, launching a potential pretender in the turkey at the next presidential election and the first rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested on Wednesday at his home, four days before he was appointed candidate for the presidential election in political opposition. He denied the accusations against him that the opponents of Mr. Erdogans called a ploy to hinder a presidential offer from popular politicians.

The court ordered that Mr. Imamoglu be imprisoned for accusations of corruption pending a trial, the information managed by the state said. State prosecutors accused him of leading a criminal organization and supervising corruption, submitting the rigging and other financial misdeeds at the Town Hall.

Prosecutors also accused him of supporting terrorism thanks to his political coordination with a pro-Kurdish group in local elections last year. The court has not yet ruled to find out if it will also be imprisoned for these accusations.

The decision to imprison Mr. Imamoglu, who has been elected mayor three times since 2019, has raised the possibility that he is dismissed from his functions.

This alone may not prevent him from presenting himself to the presidency, but he faces other roadblocks. The day before his arrest, his Alma Mater, University of Istanbul, canceled his diploma, citing inappropriate procedures in his transfer to school in 1990. The constitution of turkeys stipulates that the president must have completed higher education. The mayor declared before being detained that he would dispute the decision.

Mr. Imamoglu is also faced with a multitude of other judicial affairs, including some which could temporarily exceed it from politics.

In a PublishThe mayor called on the Turks to stand together against this black spot on our democracy,

From his detention, he said: I am tall. I will never bow.

The criticisms of Mr. Erdogan, who have dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades, the accused for a long time to use the power of the state to undermine his rivals. But, they say, arrest a presidential competitor to eliminate it from the race before the start represents a new level of authoritarianism.

Some European leaders criticized the arrest of mayors, which caused demonstrations around Turkey, and they called on the Turkish government to respect the rule of law. Senior American officials have said little.

Steve Witkoff, President Trumps sent from the Middle East, has made no mention of the detention of mayors in a interview With the former presenter of Fox News Tucker Carlson Posted on X SATURDAY. But he said Trump had recently spoken with Mr. Erdogan. The call was not made public by the White House at the time.

There are just a lot of good positive news that comes out of Turkey at the moment following this conversation, Witkoff said, without providing more details.

Despite the detention of Mr. Imamoglus, the main opposition party of the turkey, the party of the Republican peoples, or CHP, continued a primary on Sunday to officially designate it its presidential candidate. The members of the party voted across the country and the party called on non -partial members to also appear to vote symbolic to support the imprisoned mayor.

Mr. Erdogans current presidential term, his second, expires in 2028. Although the Constitution limits the presidents to two complete mandates, he could legally run if the parliament called for early elections, cutting his second term.

Many people in Türkiye expect it to happen. If this is the case, it is possible that Mr. Imamoglu, 54, excluded from the race. Mr. Erdogan, 71, did not say if he would present himself, but he has no clear successor and many people in Türkiye expect him to seek another mandate.

Mr. Imamoglu's imprisonment could disrupt the administration of the largest city in turkey. The city government employs more than 100,000 people and oversees a number of companies that build housing, lead public transport and carry out infrastructure projects.

Large protests against the detention of Mr. Imamoglus broke out every night in the cities of Turkey, despite the efforts of governments to arrest them. Public demonstrations have been prohibited in the countries three largest cities, the social medial access has been limited and the main transit centers have been closed to hinder the capacity of the demonstrators to come together in public squares.

On Saturday, the Interior Ministry said that 343 people were arrested during the protest, and the office of the Governor of Istanbuls, appointed by Mr. Erdogan, said that travelers likely to participate in illegal demonstrations would be prevented from entering the city.

East Safak And Harman gullin Contributed reports.