Nearly 50 people have been arrested in Turkey as part of a widening investigation into alleged graft involving Istanbul’s opposition mayor, whose recent jailing ignited the country’s largest protests in over a decade.
Istanbul prosecutors announced Saturday that “47 people have been arrested,” including Kadriye Kasapoglu, an aide and brother-in-law to Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, as well as several city hall officials. Local outlets reported that police raids were carried out across Istanbul, Ankara, and Tekirdag.
Imamoglu, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was arrested on March 19—the same day he was named the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election. His detention immediately sparked massive nightly protests outside Istanbul City Hall, which rapidly spread nationwide.
Ozgur Celik, head of CHP’s Istanbul branch, suggested the arrests were retaliation for the city’s resistance to a controversial infrastructure project. “Today’s operation is no coincidence,” Celik wrote on X, referring to Istanbul’s Water and Sewage Authority’s efforts to halt construction along the planned Istanbul Canal.
The canal project, first introduced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2011, has drawn fierce criticism from environmentalists and opposition figures alike. It threatens natural and agricultural lands and risks damaging a vital reservoir that supplies Istanbul with drinking water.
Gokhan Gunaydin, deputy chairman of the CHP parliamentary group, echoed these concerns, stating, “The real reason for these arrests is the Istanbul Canal.”
Authorities have also recently launched a major social housing initiative and placed land along the canal’s planned route up for sale, a move seen by critics as part of a broader political strategy.
Imamoglu’s arrest has not only intensified political tensions but also shaken Turkey’s economy. Istanbul’s BIST 100 stock index plunged nearly 14 percent over the month, while the Turkish lira lost almost eight percent of its value against the dollar, despite a massive $50 billion intervention by the central bank.
The mayor’s detention is widely viewed as an effort to weaken the opposition ahead of future elections, further straining Turkey’s already polarized political landscape.
