3w ago

Turkey: Imamoglu, Erdogan's rival president candidate has been arrested

www.sozcu.com.tr

Son dakika: Ekrem İmamoğlu gözaltına alındı - Sözcü Gazetesi

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27386046

For better context in the broader timeline: Yesterday, the government pressured the university he graduated from to falsify his diploma. Law enforcement previously conducted raids and arrested various elected mayors, and is also keeping Umit Ozdag, leader of Zafer Party in jail without any reasonable justification.

Istanbul Republic Chief Prosecution Office has ordered arrest on 100 people that include politicians, journalists and businessmen, and Erdogan's biggest rival candidate for president, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is also the current mayor of Istanbul.

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From CNN:
" The move to detain the mayor of Turkey’s largest city, a key political battleground, comes after Istanbul University said on Tuesday it had annulled Imamoglu’s degree over irregularities, dealing a blow to the opposition and dashing the mayor’s presidential ambitions.
Without a university degree, Imamoglu of the main opposition CHP, would be disqualified from running for president.
Imamoglu said the university’s decision was illegal and outside its jurisdiction, and that he would launch a legal challenge “The decision of the Istanbul University Board of Directors is UNLAWFUL” he said. “The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near.”
---- Yeah Erdogan isn't even pretending any more. Clearly just a move to take out the opposition.
- Can some other university give him an honorary degree?
  
  Probably not without angering the current administration and getting thrown in jail. Also they would argue it is illegal. I'm just an internet bozo, though.
- He has been a wannabe Putin for quite some time now.

Translation of the headline above:
Ekrem İmamoğlu was taken into custody - Sözcü Newspaper
ibb President Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained. Police teams are searching at Imamoglu's house. For more than 100 business people and journalists, detention was also taken for detention. Some subway stations were closed in Istanbul, the police's permissions were removed.
This is not the first time Erdogan has done this over the years. Since 2002! That alone says a lot.
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/country/turkiye
https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey

Erdogan probably wants to take the upper hand in his country now that his orange friend Is in the white house again. Trump loves strong men and he ll try to copy Erdogans playbook for his own purposes.
He wants to intermediate between the USA, EU and Ukraine on the one side, Russia, Iran and China on the other, just to squeeze both for his own interests.
Turkish politics have been like this for the last 100 years at least and everyone in the west falls for it.
Turkey is not a real nor honest friend/ally of the west. Better of without them and Erdogan
- The west tolerates Turkey's bullshit because it controls the Bosporus. Nothing more, nothing less.
  
  Also, technically they are not the worst Middle Eastern ally of the West. Maybe giving Israel the go-ahead for their genocide showed that nobody cares about democracy and the rule of law in that part of the world anyway.

Sad times. Another hit on freedom and democracy.
- Lol, come on now, Turkey was declared a dictatorship almost a decade ago.
  Any opposition surely is a step up for them, but inconsequential without a force capable of challenging the entire Turkish government.

Erdogan really wants Turkey to be even more of a dictatorship. What a cunt

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