Ekreem Imamoglu, Erdogan's Main Rival, Addressed His Supporters From Behind Bars
1- 30.03.2025, 11:25
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The politician urged his supporters not to stop protesting.
Arrested on charges of corruption and aiding terrorist organizations, the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, called on his supporters to continue the fight.
He also stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has turned his country into a "republic of fear." As reported by Bild, İmamoğlu managed to transmit his message for publication in the New York Times.
"For many years, Erdoğan's regime has undermined democratic systems of checks and balances, silencing the media, replacing elected mayors with bureaucrats, dismantling the legislature, controlling the judiciary, and manipulating elections," İmamoğlu wrote.
The politician urged not to stop protesting: "The time of unchecked rulers requires those who believe in democracy to be as loud, energetic, and unyielding as their opponents."
The publication also cites the words of Turkey expert Eren Güvercin, who told Bild that for a long time, the EU preferred to ignore the authoritarian tendencies in Turkey.
"By imprisoning İmamoğlu, Erdoğan is leading Turkey from autocracy to dictatorship," Güvercin stated.
According to Güvercin, Europe should avoid the same mistakes that were made regarding Putin — the suppression of the opposition and the transformation of the country into a dictatorship should not be ignored.
İmamoğlu was arrested just days before he was supposed to be nominated as the presidential candidate from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in the upcoming 2028 elections, where the mayor of Istanbul could pose serious competition to the incumbent President Erdoğan.
In response to his arrest, large-scale protests erupted across the country.
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