Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul’s mayor — a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and terror links, media reports said.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued detention warrants for the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, and some 100 other people. Among those detained was Imamoglu’s close aid, Murat Ongun. Authorities closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest. The arrest came during a search of Imamoglu’s home, but it was not immediately clear if police confiscated anything at the site.
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Source: Asharq Al-Awsat News
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