Turkey detains 52 in second wave of arrests in Imamoglu probe
The main opposition links the detention of more Istanbul municipality employees to the Canal Istanbul project.
ANKARA — The number of people detained in a corruption investigation targeting Istanbul’s municipality rose to 52 on Monday after police arrested another suspect, amid an outcry that has swelled since Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest more than a month ago.
Imamoglu, a presidential contender from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), and a key rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was detained on March 19 and subsequently jailed on March 23 on corruption charges, leading to the largest mass protests in the country in more than a decade. He denies any wrongdoing.
Turkish authorities issued detention warrants Saturday for 53 people as part of the corruption probe, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said Saturday. Police rounded up 51 suspects in raids across Istanbul, the capital Ankara and the northwestern province of Tekirdag over the weekend, according to Turkish news outlets.
The tally rose to 52 on Monday with the arrest of Erkan Simsek, another municipal employee. Imamoglu and 20 others remain jailed from the earlier wave of arrests in March.
