There is no end to the prosecutions against the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglouwhich is in the crosshairs of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant against Ekrem Imamoglu on charges of “political espionage”, Anadolu news agency reported today (27.10.2025).
Imamoglu, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival, has been in prison since March awaiting trial with accusations of “corruption”. In July he was given a new prison sentence for insulting and threatening the public prosecutor of Istanbul.
The mayor of Istanbul all categories. This new research about “espionage” it also targets Imamoglu’s 2019 and 2024 election campaign manager, Neceti Ezkan, and Tele1 network manager Merdan Yanardag.
In the context of this investigation, Imamoglou is accused for fraud during his campaign fund-raising for the presidency and espionage aimed at securing international support, the Turkish news agency noted.
As Anadolu reported, an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant overnight against Imamoglu and two others, including Yanardag.
On Friday, the Turkish government took control of Tele1, citing allegations of espionage.
Hundreds of officials and elected representatives of Imamoglu’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) they are in prison after a series of prosecutions with the main charge being corruption.
The CHP denies the accusations, calling them an attempt by the government to remove political opponents of Erdogan and weaken the party.