Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamogul is also a major political rival to President Tayyip Erdogan, leading him in several polls and was jailed in March on trial over corruption charges and support from terrorist groups. The mayor denied all charges, and his arrest caused massive protests, economic disruption and widespread accusations of politicized justice.
On Saturday, NTV said the chief of staff of Imamoguru, the municipal secretary general, the chairman and vice-president of the municipal water and sewerage department (ISKI), and the head of the ISKI department were taken into custody.
Authorities also detained the wife of Imamoguru’s aide, NTV said. In addition to that, several other senior officials of the municipalities and agencies associated with it added that they were considered part of the investigation.
The detention results in the number of arrests as Imamoguru was detained by at least 150 people, but the exact number is unknown.
Imamoguru, who dismissed all the accusations and accusations against him and his municipality as politically manufactured to eliminate the election challenge for Erdogan, said that the detained did nothing wrong and called on the citizens to fight “corrupting our nation.”
MNA/