‘Staging coup against next president’: Turkey’s Erdogan faces flak over detention of key political rival

Turkish authorities have been accused of staging “a coup” against “the country’s next president” by the opposition party after a key figure was detained on Wednesday (March 19) on charges of corruption and aiding a terror outfit.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, was detained days ahead of his potential nomination as the presidential candidate for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Media reports showed Turkish police wearing riot gear deployed outside Imamoglu’s house, along with dozens of police vehicles.

Imamoglu’s video message

In a video posted on X, the Istanbul Mayor alleged a handful of people were “trying to steal” the will of the people.

“I am saddened to say, a handful of people who are trying to steal the will of the people, have sent the dear police, the security forces implicating them in this wrongful doing,” Imamoglu said.

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“Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door my house — the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul,” the mayor was quoted as saying by CNN.

Imamoglu is currently facing two separate investigations, including related to charges of leading a crime organisation, bribery as well as tender rigging.

Adding to his woes, the Istanbul University on Tuesday (March 18) said it had annulled the mayor’s degree over irregularities. Notably, a university degree is required in Turkey to run for presidential elections. The cancellation of degree essentially bars him from contesting in polls.

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Imamoglu alleged the university’s decision was “illegal” and he would seek relief from court.

The decision of the Istanbul University Board of Directors is UNLAWFUL” he said. “The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near.”

Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies

Erdogan, who has been at the helm in Turkey for over two decades, is often criticised for brazen display of authoritarian tendencies. Under his watch, the country has seen a sharp increase in the expansion of the prison system. The country is rapidly building new prisons to accommodate the growing number of political prisoners, journalists, academics and activists accused of opposing the regime.

The Justice Ministry’s General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses revealed on March 3 that a whopping 398,694 people were languishing in the country’s prisons, leading to overcrowding. Turkey has a prison population rate of 466 per 100,000 people, a record. To put the numbers into perspective, when Erdogan rose to power in 2002, there were less than 60,000 prisoners in the country.

(With inputs from agencies)