site.btaIstanbul's Suspended Mayor Imamoglu Reacts to Espionage Charges

The suspended Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has reacted to a new arrest warrant issued against him as part of a political espionage investigation. He commented on his Facebook page: "They have turned my beautiful country into a place where nothing is real and everything is possible. It would be more realistic to say that I burned Rome."

Imamoglu has been  in pre-trial detention on several charges of corruption since March, and received a fresh jail sentence in July for insulting and threatening the chief Istanbul prosecutor. 

The indictment following the latest investigation against him states that Imamoglu was involved in collecting bribes intended to finance his presidential campaign, as well as in espionage aimed at securing international support.

Imamoglu also said: "Our struggle against this mentality, which has sworn to ruin the future of our nation, has now grown even larger." He also recalled one of the slogans chanted during rallies by supporters of Turkiye's main opposition force, the Republican People's Party (CHP), to which he belongs: "There is no salvation alone; either we all stand together or none of us." He also called on people not to lose hope and assured them that they will succeed with courage, determination and resolve.

Hundreds of members and mayors from CHP have been charged with corruption and illegal activities. The party has described the proceedings against its members as "political" and "anti-democratic", and accuses the Turkish government of attempting to remove Imamoglu from the presidential race.