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Istanbul mayor denies terrorism charges

Politiko 2025-03-22 21:52:17

Istanbul mayor denies terrorism charges

Arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has denied the "terrorism" charges brought against him.

"I see today during the interrogation that I and my colleagues have been faced with unimaginable accusations and slander ," Imamoglu said in his defense during a hearing on Saturday.

Later on Saturday, Imamoglu arrived at the Caglayan courthouse, where he was to be questioned by prosecutors, a spokesman for the municipality said. Imamoglu will appear in court on Sunday as a judge is expected to decide whether to jail him or release him.

The mayor, a key opposition figure and potential challenger to longtime president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested by the government on Wednesday on charges of corruption and "terrorism".

His arrest came four days before his Republican People's Party (CHP) planned to nominate him as its 2028 presidential candidate.

Erdogan on Saturday accused the CHP leadership of turning the party "into an apparatus to acquit a handful of municipal thieves who are blinded by money."

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