A Turkish court on Monday issued a new arrest warrant for Istanbul's jailed mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, this time on a charge of "political espionage," in a move critics say could pave the way for a state takeover of the municipality. While it is not unusual for Turkish courts to issue formal arrest warrants for individuals already in custody when a new investigation begins, critics allege the judiciary is politicised, an accusation the government denies, insisting it is independent. İmamoğlu, a prominent rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been imprisoned since March pending trial on separate corruption charges. He was also sentenced to prison in July for insulting and threatening the Istanbul public prosecutor. He has denied all charges. He denied the latest espionage charge in court on Sunday and in a statement from prison on Friday. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that an Istanbul court had issued the new arrest warrant on Sunday for İmamoğlu and two others, including Merdan Yanardağ, the editor-in-chief of the Tele1 news channel. On Friday, the state took control of the channel, which has been critical of the government, over espionage allegations. The move against İmamoğlu, who runs Europe's largest city, is part of what critics describe as an escalating crackdown on the opposition in recent months, which has seen dozens of mayors, journalists, and other prominent figures arrested or suspended from their posts. However, the opposition was given some breathing room on Friday when another court rejected a lawsuit that sought to annul the results of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) congress in 2023. The case had threatened to unseat CHP leader Özgür Özel, who is credited with reviving the opposition's fortunes after more than a decade of electoral losses under his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The lawsuit had sought to evaluate allegations of irregularities during the congress that elected Özel as chairman.
