Türkiye has rejected “prejudiced” foreign statements on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest and the protests it sparked, citing the detention of roughly 1,900 people since the state-wide demonstrations began eight days ago.
Imamoglu, the main political opponent of President Tayyip Erdogan and a poll leader, was imprisoned on Sunday pending trial for graft.
Mass arrests occurred nationwide as a result of his detention, which sparked the biggest anti-government demonstrations in ten years.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP), Imamoglu’s primary opposition party, as well as other opposition parties, rights organizations, and Western powers, have all claimed that the lawsuit against the mayor, who was fired as a result of it, was a politicized attempt to remove a possible electoral danger to Erdogan.
The administration asserts that the courts are autonomous and denies any control over them.
Speaking to international media representatives in Istanbul, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Ankara had asked its European partners to act with “common sense”, adding the gravity of the allegations against Imamoglu required his arrest.
“We don’t want the arrest of any politician, but if there is evidence of a violation then it can happen,” Tunc said through a translator.
“If we look at the gravity of the allegations, and as there is risk that evidence can be concealed, the judiciary has made a reasonable decision,” he added.
