Dozens arrested over online posts in Turkey after key Erdoğan rival detained

At least 37 people have been detained in Turkey over social media posts that criticised the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival.

İmamoğlu was taken into custody on Wednesday, along with 105 more people, including business leaders, journalists and other politicians.

The Turkish government says the mayor of Istanbul is charged with corruption and aiding a terrorist group. However, he and his supporters believe the charges are politically motivated.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) to which İmamoğlu belongs condemned his detention as “a coup against our next president”.

Meanwhile, İmamoğlu said shortly before his arrest that “the will of the people cannot be silenced“.

Despite a four-day ban on demonstrations in Istanbul, people took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against what they see as a blow to their country’s democracy.

Erdoğan's critics also vented their frustration on social media platforms.

On Thursday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said dozens of people had been arrested for sharing what he called “provocative” online posts. The messages incited public hatred or crime, he claimed.

Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office identified 261 accounts that had shared such messages, with 37 arrests made as of Thursday.

İmamoğlu was taken to prison just days before an internal CHP election, in which he was due to be named as the party’s presidential candidate.

The day before his arrest, Istanbul University nullified İmamoğlu’s diploma, citing irregularities in his transfer from a private university in Cyprus in the 1990s.

He said the move, which would prevent him from running for the presidency, as all candidates are required to hold a university degree, was “legally baseless”.

İmamoğlu became the elected mayor of Turkey's largest city in March 2019. Erdogan’s party claimed irregularities in the results, with İmamoğlu winning the re-run.

The mayor retained his position last year, when his party made significant gains across the country against Erdoğan’s ruling party.

Some international leaders have condemned İmamoğlu’s detention.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his arrest was “depressing for democracy in Turkey, but certainly also depressing for the relationship between Europe and Turkey”.

“We can only call for this to end immediately and for opposition and government to stand in competition with each other, and not the opposition being brought to court,” he said.