Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced in a press statement on Sunday evening that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been suspended from office. The move comes after İmamoğlu was remanded in custody for alleged ‘corruption’ offences early on Sunday.
The Mayor of Beylikdüzü, Mehmet Murat Çalık, and the Mayor of Şişli, Resul Emrah Şahan, who were detained along with İmamoğlu on 19 March, have also been suspended from office. The arrest of the mayors sparked mass protests across Turkey as opposition voices deemed it a politically motivated move targeting rivals of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Ministry of Interior said in its statement that the Mayor of Şişli, Resul Emrah Şahan, who was arrested on terrorism charges, was suspended from office ‘as a temporary measure’ and that the the Governorship of Istanbul had appointed the Governor of Şişli District, Cevdet Ertürkmen, as Acting Mayor.
Istanbul Municipal Council will meet next Wednesday to elect a deputy to replace İmamoğlu.
