A democratic and secular Turkey is vital for the stability of Europe, the Middle East and the international order, jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu warned in a powerful opinion piece he wrote for the Financial Times from prison, urging global democratic solidarity against the country’s growing authoritarianism under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
İmamoğlu, who became a key opposition figure after his landmark victory in İstanbul’s 2019 mayoral election and his re-election as the mayor of İstanbul last year, is seen as the post powerful rival of Erdoğan, whose increasingly authoritarian rule has faced growing criticism at home and abroad.
He was arrested on March 23 on corruption charges, which many critics view as politically motivated. His detention on March 19 ignited widespread protests, the largest in Turkey since 2013, escalating political tensions.
Writing from Silivri Prison, İmamoğlu called the accusations against him “baseless” and argued that Turkey’s geographic and strategic position, at the intersection of Europe, Asia and key conflict zones, makes its democratic trajectory critical to the security of NATO, the EU and the broader Middle East.
He said the war in Ukraine has shown how urgently strategic coordination is needed across this geopolitical arc, adding that developments in Syria and the ongoing tragedy in Gaza demonstrate how quickly instability can spill across borders.
“In each of these theatres, a democratic, secular Turkey is not merely helpful — it is essential,” he wrote.
He described his arrest as part of a broader effort by Erdoğan’s government to suppress opposition momentum ahead of elections slated for 2028 but which could be held earlier.
His university diploma, a requirement for presidential office, was retroactively revoked before his detention on March 19, when his home was raided by the police. Dozens of others including city officials and İmamoğlu’s advisers were also detained as part of the same investigation.
In addition to widespread protests sparked by his detention, over 15 million citizens participated in the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) open primaries to nominate him as their candidate on the day İmamoğlu was put in pretrial detention.
“Placing me behind bars is not a victory for Erdoğan. On the contrary, it has triggered an awakening,” he wrote.
İmamoğlu said that Turkey’s economic and geopolitical potential can only be realized under a transparent, rules-based government. “Democratic solidarity around the world is now essential to building our shared future,” he said. “The global wave of democratic backsliding may have begun in Turkey. I believe the pushback will begin here, too.”
CHP deputy district mayor arrested in İstanbul
Meanwhile Fidan Gül, the CHP’s deputy district mayor of İstanbul’s Beykoz Municipality, was arrested on Wednesday on accusations of bid rigging.
She was detained at her home in İstanbul on Tuesday.
Gül’s arrest is part of a broader investigation launched by the Beykoz Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the municipality that led to the February arrest of Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler in addition to 12 others including municipal officials and businesspeople on charges of bid rigging and forming a criminal organization.
Köseler was subsequently removed from office by the Interior Ministry.
The probe targets a total of 22 individuals.
The opposition-run municipalities have been the subject of a government-led crackdown in recent months that saw the arrest and removal from office of several opposition mayors.
The opposition claims the government is using the judiciary to discredit opposition-run municipalities in the wake of its election defeat in last year’s local elections.