Turkish court orders arrest of Istanbul’s jailed mayor for ‘political espionage’

By Reuters 27 October 2025, 8:40 am

1 Edit

Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu addresses his supporters in front of the Istanbul courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A Turkish court has issued another formal arrest order for Istanbul’s jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on suspicion of “political espionage,” state-owned Anadolu news agency says, stepping up a long-running opposition crackdown.

Imamoglu, a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in jail since March pending trial on separate corruption charges, received a fresh jail sentence in July for insulting and threatening the chief Istanbul prosecutor.

Imamoglu denies all charges against him. He denied the latest charge in court on Sunday and in a statement from prison on Friday.

“Such a slander, lie and conspiracy wouldn’t even cross the devil’s mind!” he said on X. “We are facing a shameful indecency that can’t be described with words.”