Court jails 18 more in second wave of Istanbul Municipality probe
ISTANBUL
A court has jailed 18 more people pending trial in the second wave of a sweeping corruption probe targeting Istanbul Municipality.
The operation, conducted on April 26 across the capital Ankara, Istanbul and its neighboring city of Tekirdağ, initially led to the detention of 47 suspects, primarily linked to the municipality’s waterworks subsidiary. Subsequent raids brought the total number of detainees to 52, though several individuals were released during preliminary interrogations.
Following days of questioning and procedures, the court delivered its ruling in the early hours of April 30, remanding 18 suspects in custody pending trial.
Another 12 individuals were released under judicial control measures, including international travel bans.
According to the indictment, prosecutors alleged that several public tenders between 2021 and 2023 were systematically manipulated.
Among the detained are high-ranking directors from the municipality’s departments and affiliated companies, a deputy mayor from Istanbul’s Bakırköy district and a personal bodyguard of İmamoğlu. The bodyguard previously drawn public scrutiny after being caught on surveillance footage obstructing security cameras during a meeting involving İmamoğlu and other suspects.
Notably, İmamoğlu’s brother-in-law —his wife Dilek İmamoğlu’s brother — is also among those remanded.
İmamoğlu was arrested in the first wave of the operation in late March. The mayor’s arrest triggered widespread demonstrations, particularly in Istanbul.
One of those apprehended during the protests, Joakim Medin, a Swedish journalist who had arrived in Istanbul to report on the protests, is set to stand trial on April 30 on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Medin, 40, a correspondent for the Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC, was detained on March 27 and imprisoned the following day.
If convicted, Medin faces a prison sentence of up to three years.
Prosecutors claim he had previously taken part in a January 2023 demonstration in Stockholm organized by the PKK terrorist organization.
