ISTANBUL: A Turkish court has issued another formal arrest order for Istanbul’s jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on suspicion of “political espionage,” state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Monday, stepping up a long-running opposition crackdown.
Imamoglu, a key rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in jail since March pending trial on separate corruption charges, received a fresh jail sentence in July for insulting and threatening the chief Istanbul prosecutor.
Imamoglu denies all charges against him.
He denied the latest charge in court on Sunday and in a statement from prison on Friday.
“Such a slander, lie and conspiracy wouldn’t even cross the devil’s mind!” he said on X. “We are facing a shameful indecency that can’t be described with words.”
Anadolu said an Istanbul court issued the arrest order overnight for Imamoglu and two others, including Merdan Yanardag, editor-in-chief of television news channel Tele1.
The channel, which is critical of the government, was seized by the state on Friday, citing the espionage accusations.
The latest court ruling accuses Imamoglu of engaging in graft to raise funds for his presidential candidacy and espionage to secure international support, the agency said.
Hundreds of members and elected leaders of Imamoglu’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) face an array of corruption-related charges in a crackdown the party calls politicized and anti-democratic.
The CHP denies graft accusations as a politicized attempt by the government to remove electoral threats against Erdogan, a charge the government rejects.
But the opposition got some respite from the pressure on Friday, after another court dismissed a bid to to oust the CHP’S leader and annul its 2023 congress.
Turkiye court orders arrest of Istanbul’s jailed mayor for ‘political espionage’
https://arab.news/n3mtj
Turkiye court orders arrest of Istanbul’s jailed mayor for ‘political espionage’
- Imamoglu, a key rival of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in jail since March pending trial on separate corruption charges, received a fresh jail sentence in July for insulting and threatening the chief Istanbul prosecutor
- The latest court ruling accuses Imamoglu of engaging in graft to raise funds for his presidential candidacy and espionage to secure international support
Jordan’s king stresses need to preserve Christian presence in Middle East
- King Abdullah II holds talks with religious leaders in Amman
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan emphasized the importance of preserving a Christian presence in the Middle East on Monday during talks with religious leaders.
In meetings at Al-Husseiniya Palace with Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and Archimandrite Metodije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the king called for an end to the violation of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem by Israel, which he said was seeking to change the historical and legal status quo, the Petra news agency reported.
The king reaffirmed Jordan’s religious and historical role in protecting holy sites under its Hashemite Custodianship.
Crown Prince Hussein, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the king’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs, Alaa Batayneh, director of the Office of His Majesty, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III also joined the talks, the report said.
King Abdullah stressed the need for all parties to adhere to the agreement to end the war in Gaza, ensure the flow of aid and prevent escalations in the occupied West Bank.
