In a press conference held today (January 27), Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu alleged the falsification of reports that led to the opening of a case against him in early 2023. While the Mayor was still speaking at the podium, the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched a new investigation against the mayor.

The 2023 case referenced by the mayor on Monday focuses on the awarding of tender contracts during the embattled mayor’s time as Beylikdüzü district mayor in 2015.

Turkey has seen a major crackdown against opposition officials in recent weeks, including the detention of Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, the launch of a separate investigation into İmamoğlu himself, and the deposition and detention of Rıza Akpolat, the mayor of Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district. Özgür Özel, chairman of İmamoğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), decried the “politicization of the Turkish judiciary” in comments last week.

Recent depositions have also targeted pro-Kurdish politicians in the country’s south and

© Medyascope