Turkey Issues New Arrest Order for Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu on ‘Political Espionage’ Charges

By Staff, Agencies

A Turkish court has issued a fresh arrest warrant for Istanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, on charges of “political espionage,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported, marking a further escalation in the government’s campaign against opposition figures.

Imamoglu, a prominent member of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and widely viewed as President Tayyip Erdogan’s strongest political rival, has been imprisoned since March pending trial on separate corruption charges.

In July, he received an additional prison sentence for allegedly insulting and threatening Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.

From prison, Imamoglu rejected the new allegations as fabricated, denouncing them in court and again in a message posted Friday on X, where he wrote: “Such a slander, lie, and conspiracy wouldn’t even cross the devil’s mind! This is a shameful indecency that can’t be described with words.”

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities on Saturday seized control of the opposition broadcaster Tele1, removing its editor-in-chief and suspending its regular programming.

The state’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) — acting as trustee over Can Holding, a conglomerate under fraud investigation — took over the channel late Friday.

By Saturday, hard news content had been replaced with documentaries and health shows, and the network’s YouTube channel had been deleted, with previous broadcasts reportedly erased.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from press freedom advocates, who say it reflects Ankara’s tightening grip on dissenting voices ahead of upcoming elections.