What would happen if I had arrested my enemy?

“Thousands Take to the Streets in Turkey in a Week of Protests.” AP News, 26 Mar. 2025, apnews.com/article/turkey-mayor-protest-ekrem-imamoglu-photo-gallery-1242ecc8c544f7368e9de326a0c5307a. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

This thought probably came across the mind of Turkish President - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He followed his political instincts and arrested Istanbul mayor and major opposition candidate for the 2028 Turkish presidential election - Ekrem İmamoğlu. Apart from him, almost 100 other opposition members were detained. His imprisonment, which many think was politically motivated, ignited a wave of protests among the Turkish people. The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), who is the main opponent of Erdoğan, has estimated the number of people attending to be almost 2.2 million. As of the writing of this article, the protests have been going on for 23 consecutive days.

“Turkish Students Stage Fresh Protests in Istanbul and Ankara - Region - World.” Ahram Online , 2025, english.ahram.org.eg/News/544259.aspx. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

www.wnp.pl/polityka-i-sondaze/wydarzenia/turcja-oto-recep-tayyip-erdogan,714570.html. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

In order to understand the tensions we should consider several factors and actions taken by both Erdoğan and İmamoğlu. Firstly, a few months before his arrest, İmamoğlu began to publicly criticise the ruling President. Furthermore, he notably won municipal elections against the ruling party’s allies. Therefore, the Turkish administration took legal action in order to arrest the main rival and possible candidate in the upcoming elections. Consequently, this resulted in the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu on 19th of March 2025. He was put into custody based on allegations including corruption charges and providing assistance to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Another crucial reason for protest is the unethical manoeuvres taken by Istanbul University. More specifically, the university has invalidated the degree of Ekrem İmamoğlu which took away his possibility to run for an office in 2028 [1]. Some experts clearly state that Erdoğan recognises the risk of losing elections and thus is trying to take any possible steps to secure it.

On 30th of March 2025 there was a wide-reaching rally. A few days earlier, the leader of CHP Özgür Özel met with İmamoğlu in prison. During the rally, AI-generated character read out the letter from imprisoned mayor:

„I have no fear, you are behind me and by my side. I have no fear because the nation is united. The nation is united against the oppressor. They can put me in jail and try me as much as they want, the nation has shown that it will crush all traps and plots.”

–said İmamoğlu in his letter.

Apart from the society’s opposition and the loss of mandate, Türkiye faced international reaction. As such behaviours are real threats to democracy and huge steps towards autocratisation processes, countries may face challenges in diplomacy. Observers along with high-level politicians outline their concerns about democracy which may affect Türkiye efforts to join the European Union. On 18th March 2025, Ursula von der Leyen, President of The European Commission, expressed concerns over İmamoğlu's arrest and increased political tension in Turkiye, and reminded about obligation to uphold democratic values in order to maintain country-candidate status to the European Union [3]. Moreover, according to The Guardian “İmamoğlu accused foreign leaders, particularly those in Europe, of failing to speak out about his detention in a message from prison published by the New York Times” [4]. Another consequence of Erdoğan’s actions is the economical collapse of the Turkish lira. Since the start of the tensions, currency has noted huge losses in its value compared to the United States Dollar.

Taking into account every action taken towards İmamoğlu, the pure intention of President Erdoğan is outlined. He clearly wants to guarantee himself or his allies a spot in the upcoming presidential election.

Bibliography

[1] İstanbul Üniversitesi (2025) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT. https://www.istanbul.edu.tr/tr/duyuru/kamuoyu-duyurusu-6C00780037004200320048003500480041007100500039007900700046006200610041004F003200370077003200(Accessed: March 30, 2025).

[2] Sezer, C. and Madi, E. (2025) 'Large crowds rally in Istanbul over jailing of Erdogan’s main rival,' Reuters, 29 March. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/large-crowds-rally-istanbul-over-jailing-citys-mayor-2025-03-29/ (Accessed: March 30, 2025).

[3] Dom, E.A.-M. (2025) 'Thousands protest against arrest of Istanbul mayor seen as key Erdoğan rival,' Euronews, 19 March. https://www.euronews.com/2025/03/20/thousands-protest-against-arrest-of-istanbul-mayor-seen-as-key-erdogan-rival.

[4] Michaelson, R. (2025) 'Turkish opposition rallies in defence of jailed Istanbul mayor in mass protest,' The Guardian, 29 March.