Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for 47 city officials, district mayors and staff across İstanbul, whose mayor, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been jailed since March, Turkish Minute reported on Saturday, citing the state-run Anadolu news agency.
The warrants were based on “four separate corruption investigations centered on İstanbul,” Anadolu said, without revealing how many people were actually taken into custody.
İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges criticized as politically motivated. His arrest, widely seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests in a decade.
Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at İstanbul City Hall, including İmamoğlu’s private secretary and his security officer.
The latest warrants targeted a former opposition lawmaker and five mayors of İstanbul districts, according to Anadolu.
Halk TV, which is close to the CHP, said nine district mayors — out of a total of 39 — had now been arrested and were being held in custody.
In response, the CHP’s İstanbul branch decided to call for an emergency meeting to address the increasing pressure on the party, though party leader Özgür Özel announced he would not cancel planned political rallies.
Critics say the detention warrants mark a continuing campaign to weaken opposition control in Turkey’s largest and most politically significant city.
The CHP had nominated İmamoğlu as its candidate for the presidential election scheduled for 2028.
