Fourteen individuals detained in connection with an ongoing investigation into the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality were yesterday transferred to different prisons across Turkey.
The detainees, who were being held at Marmara Prison in Silivri, İstanbul, were relocated to several other prisons in the Marmara Region.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said the transfers were carried out to “ensure the integrity of the investigation process and maintain institutional security within the penal system,” without disclosing the names or the specific prisons involved.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and nearly 100 others, mostly municipal officials, were detained last month in two separate investigations, one on corruption the other on terrorism charges.
İmamoğlu's Republican People's Party (CHP) claimed the transfers were intended to obstruct the detainees' right to defense and pressure them into cooperating with authorities. "Their aim is to drive our friends apart and then offer so-called cooperation," said CHP leader Özgür Özel.
Minister Tunç rejected this claim, saying, “This procedure was implemented in accordance with relevant regulations to ensure a fair and effective investigation."
Detainees moved to prisons in other provinces are often unable to appear in court in person, participating instead through video conferencing.
The transfers came after CHP deputy Umut Akdoğan described how İmamoğlu had been coordinating with his detained colleagues through written messages delivered by lawyers. “He gives notes to his lawyer saying, ‘Take this to Buğra Gökçe,’ or ‘Have Resul Emrah Şahan work on this.’ Reports are then prepared and returned to him the same way,” he told the pro-opposition Halk TV last week.
İmamoğlu denounces decision
Mayor İmamoğlu criticized the transfers in a statement on social media, framing them as part of a broader pattern of intimidation and legal pressure.
“The search for slanderers, coercion of false witnesses, secret witness fictions, people I know from my 23 years of business life being forcibly summoned to testify and intimidated, journalists being arrested, dawn raids, seizures, trustees," read the statement.
"What is this greed, this revenge, this lie, this enemy law? For God's sake, have they rotted the institutions that are the apple of the country's eye!
"Can a handful of people rot the fair judicial environment in this country to such an extent? I appeal to the judges, prosecutors and institutions of our judiciary that have almost swallowed their tongues. Enough is enough, for the sake of Allah, open your mouth and say a word. What is really happening to the nation and the state. Are you still not aware of this?”
bianet was able to identify 13 of the transferred individuals, including key figures close to İmamoğlu:
Murat Ongun, an executive at Medya A.Ş.
Hüseyin Köksal, a businessman (transferred to Çorlu High-Security Prison)
Murat Kapki of BVA, Nihat Sütlaş, Adem Soytekin, Tuncay Yılmaz of İmamoğlu İnşaat, and Serdal Taşkın, former general manager of Kültür A.Ş. (sent to Tekirdağ F-Type Prison)
Fatih Keleş, a CHP Beylikdüzü municipal council member, and Necati Özkan, İmamoğlu’s campaign director and a political communication specialist (moved to Kandıra F-Type Prison in Kocaeli)
Murat İlbak of İlbak Holding, Ömür Yılmaz of OMR Organizasyon, and Eyüp Subaşı of Popüler Reklam (transferred to Bandırma T-Type Prison)
Fatoş Ayık, a board member at Medya A.Ş. (sent to Gebze Women’s Closed Prison)
Background
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and dozens of others, most of them municipal officials, were detained in police raids on the morning of Mar 19. The operation came just days before İmamoğlu was expected to be declared the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate in the party’s presidential primary scheduled for Mar 23.
Authorities have launched two separate investigations involving a total of 106 suspects. One centers on terrorism-related charges, while the other involves alleged corruption.
The terrorism probe focuses on the CHP’s cooperation with the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party during last year’s local elections. The two parties collaborated at the district level, with DEM refraining from fielding candidates in some areas to support the CHP, while in other districts, DEM members ran on CHP lists and were elected to municipal councils. This strategy, dubbed the “urban consensus,” helped the CHP win 26 out of İstanbul’s 39 district municipalities and secure a majority in the metropolitan council.
Prosecutors allege that this alliance was orchestrated by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), citing public statements by PKK leaders during the campaign urging cooperation with the opposition. The first arrest linked to the investigation was Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, a Kurdish academic, who was jailed and removed from office in January. Ten more officials from six district municipalities were arrested in February. The investigation has since expanded to include İmamoğlu.
The corruption investigation, which affects 100 of the 106 suspects, involves allegations of bribery, embezzlement, fraud, and bid rigging in municipal subsidiaries. İmamoğlu is accused of leading a criminal organization for profit.
The CHP has described the operation as a "coup" against an elected mayor and called for public demonstrations. Saraçhane Square, in front of the metropolitan municipality building, has become the focal point of protests, where CHP leader Özgür Özel addresses large crowds each evening.
University students have also staged protests in various cities. While most gatherings have remained peaceful, clashes between demonstrators and police have led to daily detentions. More than 1,800 people were taken into custody during the protests that lasted more than a week, and 301 of them, mostly students, were remanded in custody for violating the law on demonstrations.
Authorities imposed internet restrictions on the morning of İmamoğlu’s detention, severely slowing access to major social media and messaging platforms. The bandwidth throttling, which rendered many apps nearly unusable, lasted for around 42 hours.
Additionally, the Interior Ministry has detained numerous individuals over protest-related posts on social media. Court orders have blocked access to various leftist and student group accounts.
On Mar 23, İmamoğlu was remanded in custody on corruption-related charges while the court ruled an arrest for terrorism-related charges was not necessary. A total of 51 people were remanded in custody, 48 on accusations related to financial misconduct and three to terrorism. Those who were arrested in the terrorism investigation are Mahir Polat, deputy secretary-general of the Metropolitan Municipality, and mayor and deputy mayor of the Şişli district. Forty-eight other suspects were released on judicial control measures.
(HA/VK)
