Image by Arzu Geybullayeva. Created using Canva Pro.
In December 2024, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began a multi-pronged assault on the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) members and its democratically elected mayors. Chief among the targets was Ekrem İmamoğlu, the thrice-elected mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). The rising opposition star was first detained and then arrested in a sweeping crackdown on alleged corruption and terror links on March 19, just as he was poised to be nominated as the CHP’s presidential candidate for the 2028 elections. Since then, a systematic campaign of arrests and investigations targeting the CHP and other civic actors continues unabated, putting Turkey's democratic path and the country's rule of law under the spotlight.
The devil is in the details: Kanal Istanbul
Istanbul, a city of over 16 million, is more than just a municipality; it is a crucial economic engine. Before İmamoğlu's victory in 2019, Istanbul was an AKP stronghold, a “lifeline” providing significant revenues and a platform for large-scale development projects. Losing Istanbul was a major blow to the AKP, and targeting the mayor and many others affiliated with the office appears to be the ruling party's paramount objective.
There is also the controversial Istanbul Kanal, the planned 45-km artificial waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, which was perhaps Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most ambitious infrastructure project since he took office 23 years ago. It will also bring everlasting consequences, globally and domestically.
Revealed in 2011, Turkey's “second Bosphorus,” as it’s been called, received the green light from the Environment Ministry in January 2021. Erdoğan justified the USD 12.6bn project to relieve ship traffic in the Bosphorus Strait. The new waterway will have a capacity of around 160 vessel crossings per day, according to authorities. For comparison, the Suez Canal supports 50 crossings a day, and the Panama Canal, around 50. Since its unveiling, the project has been criticized by civil society groups, scientists, and the İBB itself for the expected environmental destruction and the potential to worsen Istanbul’s earthquake risks.
On April 26, İBB Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan stated that most of those detained were bureaucrats who had openly opposed the Kanal Istanbul project. As such, experts argue that for the government, it is not merely a construction project, but a strategic move to strengthen political and economic control over Istanbul.
CHP leader Özgür Özel, commenting on his personal Instagram account, supported this argument, writing that the decision to arrest İmamoğlu and others was political and the goal was to advance Kanal Istanbul. During a demonstration in Mersin on April 26, Özel addressed the crowd, saying, “We all know the issue here is not corruption — it's Kanal Istanbul. We will stand together against those who want to betray this city.”
‘Urban consensus’ and terror charges
The accusations against İmamoğlu and numerous municipality officials include “aiding a terrorist organization,” specifically, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). These charges stem from the CHP’s cooperation with the pro-Kurdish Peoples” Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in the last municipal elections. This “urban consensus” strategy, where DEM did not field candidates in certain districts and CHP adjusted its selections, is now being portrayed by prosecutors as orchestrated by the PKK.
This tactic of using terrorism charges against opposition figures and parties, particularly those with ties to Kurdish political movements, is not new in Turkey. The government has consistently used this mechanism to appoint trustees to replace elected mayors in pro-Kurdish municipalities, effectively nullifying electoral outcomes. According to documentation by local civil society, since 2016, the ruling government has removed 147 mayors, replacing them with government-appointed trustees. Kurdish mayors have often been targeted for replacement by trustee appointments, as well as arrests.
On May 12, the PKK announced it was to disarm and dissolve itself as part of the breakthrough peace deal. However, it remains unclear what this newfound peace will mean in the context of numerous ongoing trials for terrorism charges, among them academics for peace, and hundreds of elected mayors.
Protests amid ongoing arrests
Since March 19, Turkey has seen some of its largest protests to date, as the leading opposition CHP continues to rally people. On March 29, Özel announced via X that every Wednesday, a rally would be held in different parts of Istanbul, while on weekends, they will move to different provinces until İmamoğlu is freed and an early election takes place.
In the days following that announcement, it became clear that the initial arrest of İmamoğlu was just the beginning. In April 2025, a second wave of arrests took place, targeting 18 more individuals, as part of the Istanbul municipality probe. High-profile figures like Şafak Başa, head of Istanbul's municipal water authority (İSKİ), and İmamoğlu's secretary, Kadriye Kasapoğlu, were detained in the second wave. Then, in May this year, a third wave saw detention warrants issued for 22 people, including Taner Çetin, head of the municipality’s Press, Publications and Public Relations Department, on allegations of tender irregularities and bribery.
These arrests, often carried out in dawn raids, are seen by many as attempts to create a narrative of a “criminal organisation” operating within Istanbul.
The ongoing targeting of the Istanbul municipality is a critical test for Turkey's democratic institutions. The judiciary, which the government insists is independent, is widely perceived by the opposition and international observers as being used as a tool for political ends. The annulment of İmamoğlu's university degree, a prerequisite for presidential candidacy, further underscores the perception of a deliberate effort to sideline him from future elections. Not surprisingly, the news of the academic who was behind the annulment of İmamoğlu's diploma and of his ties to the ruling party have been blocked in Turkey since April 10, when his identity became public.
Debunking allegations
Since İmamoğlu’s arrest, scores of local reporters have looked into alleged corruption and terrorism charges. None have proven to be accurate; moreover, they are based on testimonies of “secret witnesses,” as explained by TurkeyRecap. Turkey’s use of secret witnesses, enabled by the 2008 Witness Protection Law (No. 5726), was originally intended to safeguard individuals testifying in dangerous situations. In 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that anonymous testimonies alone are sufficient for arrest. However, this practice has been controversially applied in political trials, straying far from its initial purpose, according to reporting by TurkeyRecap.
Writing from his X account, İmamoğlu also dismissed allegations, calling the investigations a farce. The tweet is not accessible in Turkey because authorities blocked the mayor's account on May 9, citing a tweet which they claimed could incite criminal activity.
The relentless campaign against İmamoğlu and the Istanbul municipality, spearheaded by the AKP, reveals a clear pattern of political retribution and a determined effort to consolidate power. From the controversial Kanal Istanbul project to the weaponization of terrorism charges and the deployment of dubious “secret witness” testimonies, every move appears calculated to undermine the opposition and sideline a formidable rival in Ekrem İmamoğlu. Thousands who came to yet another Wednesday rally, on May 21, in Istanbul's Pendik neighborhood, received a message from a defiant İmamoğlu. In a letter read by CHP leader, Özel, the mayor called the wave of arrests a politically motivated assault by the ruling party, which fears losing power and public support. He emphasized the opposition's growing strength and unwavering commitment to a terrorism-free, democratic country, in light of the PKK's disarmament announcement, equality before the law and expanding the political sphere for all. He aligned his vision with the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who once said, “National sovereignty is such a light that in its presence, chains melt, crowns and thrones burn and vanish.”
The mayor ended his letter with the slogan that became part of his election campaign in 2019 and endeared him to many — “Everything is going to be great. Stay well.”
