Istanbul, March 23, 2025| Tonight, at 9:50 PM WAT, Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sits behind bars at Marmara Prison in Silivri, remanded by a Turkish court on corruption charges that have set off the country’s biggest protests in over a decade. The 53-year-old opposition star long seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fiercest rival was hauled off this afternoon, March 23, after days of detention and a courtroom showdown that’s left Turkey’s democracy dangling by a thread. Outside, tens of thousands chant his name, their voices clashing with tear gas and riot police in a fifth night of unrest that’s gripping the nation.
It started Wednesday, March 19, when police stormed Imamoglu’s home at dawn, arresting him on dual probes: one for graft bribery, bid-rigging, leading a criminal outfit and another sniffing at terror ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). By Sunday, the court had its say: jail him pending trial for corruption, but no formal arrest on the terror bit, citing “strong suspicion” but no need to double down since he’s already locked up. The ruling’s a gut punch to his Republican People’s Party (CHP), which calls it a “coup” against their would-be 2028 presidential pick. “He’s on his way to prison, but also to the presidency,” CHP leader Ozgur Ozel vowed, rallying a crowd that swelled past 300,000 outside Istanbul’s City Hall last night.
The streets tell the story. In Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir everywhere protesters wave red flags, dodge rubber bullets, and scream “Dictators are cowards!” Riot police hit back hard, with pepper spray and water cannons turning Sarachane Square into a haze of chaos. “It’s like Gezi 2013 all over again,” said Aykut, a 30-year-old protester, voice hoarse from chanting. “We voted for him Erdogan can’t just take that away.” Posts on X echo the fury, some hail it a “huge win” that terror charges didn’t stick, keeping Istanbul out of government hands, but others see a darker game. “Corruption’s the excuse; power’s the goal,” one user wrote at 10:42 WAT.
Imamoglu’s no stranger to Erdogan’s playbook. He snatched Istanbul’s mayoral seat in 2019, then again in 2024, breaking the ruling AK Party’s 25-year grip on a city Erdogan once ran himself. That made him a target and a hope. Last week, Istanbul University yanked his diploma over “irregularities,” a move that could bar him from the presidency under Turkey’s degree-or-bust rules. Now, locked up on charges he calls a “smear,” he’s urging supporters to vote in CHP’s symbolic primaries today 5,600 ballot boxes nationwide, open to all, a middle finger to the crackdown. “Don’t lose hope,” he posted on X before the cuffs came on. “This is our fight for justice.”
The stakes? Colossal. Istanbul’s 16 million souls and economic muscle make it a prize Erdogan’s desperate to reclaim after last year’s municipal drubbing. Jailing Imamoglu who leads Erdogan in some polls could kneecap the opposition’s 2028 shot, assuming he’s not convicted first. The Interior Ministry’s already suspended him as mayor, with the CHP-led council set to pick a stand-in soon. No terror arrest means no government trustee for now, but the lira’s still tanking, markets are jittery, and trust’s in freefall. “This isn’t justice; it’s a execution,” said Dilek, his wife, voting today with their son Selim.
Erdogan’s camp insists it’s legit courts are independent, they say, and Imamoglu’s dirty. Critics scoff. Germany’s Foreign Office called it a “setback for democracy,” France warned of “serious consequences,” and locals like Mehmet, a shopkeeper in Taksim, see a power grab: “They’re scared he’d win.” The protests 300 arrested Friday alone, show no sign of fading, despite a nationwide ban on gatherings. For Turkey, caught between authoritarian drift and a defiant pulse, Imamoglu’s cell might just be the spark that decides its fate.