Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday as part of a corruption investigation, according to Turkish media.
According to local news agencies, a big group of security personnel surrounded Mr Imamoglu’s residence before taking him into custody.
Murat Ongun, Mr Imamoglu’s media adviser, announced in a post on X early this morning that he was being detained but did not provide a cause.
Mr Imamoglu said on X that hundreds of police were in front of his house.
He said he would not give up and would continue resisting pressure.
As part of the same corruption investigation, Turkish authorities have ordered the arrest of over 100 additional suspects, including journalists and businesses.
Mr Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top political challenger, and he was expected to be nominated as his party’s candidate for the country’s upcoming elections this week.
His arrest comes after his university diploma was revoked, preventing him from running.
Istanbul University declared that it was withdrawing it due to apparent irregularities.
The will of the people cannot be silenced through intimidation or unlawful acts. I stand resolute, entrusting myself not only to the 16 million residents of Istanbul but to the 86 million citizens of Türkiye and all who uphold democracy and justice worldwide. I stand firm in my… pic.twitter.com/bVb0HfYZnj
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (International) (@imamoglu_int) March 19, 2025
A candidate for president in Turkey must have a university degree, according to the country’s election laws.
The graduations and degrees of Mr Imamoglu and 27 others were declared void because of an “obvious error”, said the university.
“We will take this illegitimate decision to court and fight it,” Mr Imamoglu said on X about the decision to annul his degree.
“I will not give up, I will not get tired. Ekrem is not the subject of this action any more, the entire nation is, everything people have earned and achieved is in danger.”
Turkey is scheduled to vote for its next president in 2028.
Mr Imamoglu is known to be a popular opposition politician from the centre-left Republican People’s Party (CHP).
He has been twice elected mayor of Istanbul, in 2019 and 2023, beating candidates from Mr Erdogan’s ruling conservative Justice and Development (AKP) party.
The mayoral race in Istanbul has particular importance since Mr Erdogan launched his political career there, serving as mayor in the 1990s.
Mr Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics since becoming prime minister in 2003 and must hold elections before they are scheduled in 2028 if he wants to run again under the constitution.
