Istanbul prosecutors launch new espionage probe against jailed opposition mayor

Istanbul prosecutors have opened a fresh investigation into jailed opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on charges of espionage, Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu reported on Friday.

Imamoglu, who was arrested in March as part of a broader corruption investigation, has remained behind bars since then. His detention, which triggered street protests across Istanbul, has been widely interpreted as a politically motivated move against the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for the 2028 presidential elections. Analysts consider Imamoglu the most prominent contender capable of defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The new investigation also targets Necati Ozkan, Imamoglu’s campaign manager during the 2019 and 2024 local elections, who was arrested alongside him in March and remains in custody.

Additionally, the probe named Merdan Yanardag, editor-in-chief of the pro-opposition TV channel Tele1. Yanardag was arrested at his home on Friday, according to Turkey’s journalists’ union and the MLSA media rights group.

“Tele1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag has been detained on charges of espionage in yet another dawn operation. They cannot call him a spy, nor can espionage come from true journalism! He must be released immediately,” the union wrote on X.

“Searches were conducted at the home and office of TELE 1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag after he was detained in the morning on allegations of espionage,” MLSA added on X.

The investigation traces back to July, when Turkish businessman Huseyin Gun was arrested on suspicion of spying for foreign states. Prosecutors accused him and Ozkan of allegedly sharing confidential electoral data with foreign intelligence services during the 2019 local election campaign.

This latest probe comes shortly after an Ankara court dismissed a case aimed at overturning the CHP leadership. That lawsuit had alleged vote-buying during the party’s 2023 primary, which elected CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, and could have led to his removal.

Critics describe the case as part of a broader pattern of politically motivated legal actions targeting Turkey’s oldest political party, which saw a significant surge in the 2024 local elections.

During the 2024 local elections, CHP candidates won mayoral posts in 26 of Istanbul’s 39 municipalities. Since then, at least 11 opposition mayors, including Imamoglu, have been arrested.