The office of the prosecutor said Imamoglu Construction, Trade and Industry was ordered by the Criminal Court.
Turkey seized the construction company of co -ownership of the prisoner of the Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Iimoglou, the Istanbul General Public Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Turkey arrested Imamoglou on Wednesday on charges such as bribery and aid aid to a terrorist group, a step that the main opposition party criticized “an attempt at a coup against the next president”.
In a statement late Wednesday night, the prosecutor’s office said Imamoglu Construction, Trade and Industry was ordered by the Criminal Court, based on investigation reports on financial crime.
Imamoglou of the Opposition Opposition is the main political opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his arrest was made a few days before the party was nominated for the 2028 presidential election.
He is widely regarded as Erdogan’s strongest warrior and has become the target of a growing number, as critics say, false legal investigations.
Hundreds of police officers took part in his home raid, Imoglou told X before they took him, with the authorities then blocking access to social media for a while.
Demonstrations on the streets broke out despite a strong police presence on the streets, with hundreds of police rushing around the town hall and closing the central Taksim Square. The commander banned all demonstrations for four days.
“What happened is an attempt at a coup,” Chp leader Ozgur Ozel said in a speech at the Town Hall. “The freedom of Ekrem Imamoglu is not removed to be a candidate, it is the freedom of this nation to elect him.”
Mayor’s wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglou, described it as “a targeted political enterprise aimed at eliminating the future president of Turkey. This is an immediate blow to the nation and we will fight”, he pledged.
On the streets the citizens
Thousands of people gathered in front of the Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon, shouting: “Erdogan, dictator!” And “Imamoglou, you’re not alone!” Hundreds also gathered earlier outside the police station where the mayor was held.
“When this guy and his dirty team see someone strong, they panic and do something illegal,” said one shopkeeper referring to Erdogan and the AKP party, who has been in power since 2003.
“In the past, soldiers have made coups. Today they are politicians,” 63 -year -old Hassan Yildiz sighed.
Police fired tear gas earlier to dismantle 400 students who marched outside the University of Istanbul for his decision to recall Imoglou’s degree, AFP correspondent said.
The Turkish pound fell $ 14.5% against the dollar and the Bist 100 basic brokerage index closed 8.72% lower. “Today’s decline in markets shows that investors are worried that arrest had political incentives,” said Hamish Kinnear, a senior analyst by Verisk Maplecroft.
The first Imoglou post from prison
Ekrem Imamoglu made his first post from prison, uploading videos from the magnificent demonstrations. “This nation is great,” he wrote.
‘Escalation’ of persecution
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tundz said that Imamoglu is being investigated for the “alleged crime of helping and motivating terrorist organization” in particular of the forbidden Kurdish fighter PKK organization.
A second survey involving 100 suspects focused on charges of “bribery, blackmail, corruption, distinguished fraud and illegal acquisition of personal data for profit as part of a criminal organization”.
More than 80 people were arrested early Wednesday, and about 20 more are being sought, most of the CHP. Authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers and elected politicians, especially after the failed coup in 2016. However, persecutions have intensified in recent months, with authorities removing more than twelve opposition mayors and taking action against any opponents.
Between October and March, the authorities imprisoned three CHP mayors in the Constantinople region. They also removed 10 mayors from the pro -Kurdish DEM party, with most being replaced by agents appointed by the government. Imamoglou was one of the three other chp mayors arrested on Wednesday.
“What happened was nothing more than a coup against the opposition party, with extensive consequences for Turkey’s political orbit,” political scientist Berk Esen told Constantinople University.
EU chief Ursula von der Laien said it was “deeply worrying” and Berlin denounced it as a “serious regression for democracy”. But the United States, whose President Donald Trump has warm relations with Erdogan, refused to directly criticize arrest.
“We would encourage Turkey to respect human rights, to properly handle its own internal framework,” said State Department spokesman Tami Bruce.
Target is imamoglou’s candidacy
The raid took place a few hours after the University of Constantinople recalled Imoglou’s degree, in the midst of allegations that it was falsely acquired, a significant move as candidates for the presidency are obliged by law to have a higher education degree.
It took place a few days before a major CHP meeting, in which the party was to be nominated for the 2028 presidential race.
“I think it was the” freeze “of Imamoglou’s candidacy by Erdogan in her birth,” Sonter Tsagaptai, a senior associate of the Washington Institute for the Middle East Policy, told the French Agency.
The 53 -year -old, who was re -elected as the mayor of Turkey’s largest city and economic power last year, has been involved in many legal investigations, with three new cases opening only this year.
Source: ertnews.gr / AFP