CHP rallies for İmamoğlu at Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Marking the 100th day since Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s arrest, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) staged a large rally at Istanbul's Saraçhane Square near the city hall on July 1 that ended in dozens of detentions.
The rally began with a message from İmamoğlu read aloud to the crowd.
"They are after subjugating the nation in order to establish a regime without opposition, where those who come by election do not leave by election," he said in the message. "No power can stand against a nation that stands up for justice and freedom."
CHP leader Özgür Özel also addressed the crowd and again characterized İmamoğlu’s arrest as a "coup."
The mayor was detained on March 19 and arrested four days later on corruption charges, the same day the CHP announced him as its presidential candidate for the next elections.
After the rally ended, police intervened against a group of demonstrators who refused to disperse. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 42 people were detained for "insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and "resisting security forces."
Authorities have launched five waves of operations tied to an ongoing corruption investigation into the Istanbul Municipality, with dozens of arrests.
In a separate probe into the İzmir Municipality, four more people were detained on July 1, bringing the total number to 130.
The investigation centers on alleged bid rigging and misconduct in public tenders following the delegation of authority to the municipality’s construction company, İZBETON, in urban transformation projects.
Former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer and the CHP’s provincial head Şenol Aslanoğlu are among those taken into custody.
