The original move against İmamoğlu had focused on whether his university diploma was valid — something that would be necessary for running for the presidency.
The investigation snowballed on Wednesday, however, when he was arrested on charges of extortion, bribery, fraud and being both the leader and member of a criminal organization. He was also accused of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
İmamoğlu responded by dashing off a handwritten note, saying he was the victim of a political stitch-up.
“Our nation will give the necessary response to the lies, conspiracies, traps, lies, those who violate people’s rights, and those who steal the will of the people,” he wrote, repeating the word “lies” in his hurry.
“A blow is being dealt against the will of the people,” he posted on X.
İmamoğlu is a particular bugbear for Erdoğan, himself once mayor of Istanbul, because the CHP has now won three fiercely fought municipal elections in Turkey’s biggest city — overturning districts traditionally held by the ruling Islamist party in the latest race.
