Turkish Court Issues Arrest Order for Jailed Istanbul Mayor on ‘Political Espionage’ Charges

A Turkish court has issued another formal arrest order for Istanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on suspicion of “political espionage,” the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday — a move that further intensifies the government’s long-running crackdown on the opposition.

İmamoğlu, a prominent rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been imprisoned since March on various corruption-related charges. In July, he was handed a new prison sentence for allegedly insulting and threatening Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.

The mayor has denied all allegations against him.

Rejecting the latest charge both in court on Sunday and in a statement from prison on Friday, İmamoğlu wrote on X, “Even the devil couldn’t imagine such slander, lies, and conspiracies! We are facing a shameless disgrace beyond words.”

According to Anadolu, the Istanbul court issued overnight arrest warrants for İmamoğlu and two others, including Merdan Yanardağ, editor-in-chief of the television news channel Tele1. The channel, known for its criticism of the government, was seized by authorities on Friday, citing espionage-related accusations.

The agency reported that the new ruling accuses İmamoğlu of engaging in corruption to finance his presidential campaign and of conducting espionage to gain international support.

Hundreds of members and elected representatives of İmamoğlu’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), face similar corruption-related cases — charges the party describes as politically motivated and anti-democratic.

The CHP has dismissed the allegations as part of the Erdoğan administration’s broader attempt to neutralize electoral threats. The government denies this claim.

However, the opposition scored a minor legal victory on Friday when another court rejected a motion seeking to remove the CHP leader and annul the party’s 2023 congress.