ALBAWABA - Turkish Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a well-known opposition leader of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is slapped with new charges by prosecutors, Anadolu Agency reported.
Ekrem Imamoglu, who was first detained on March 19 on corruption charges, sparking nationwide protests, is now accused of "political espionage" charges, Bloomberg said on Monday.
Jailed Turkish mayor is now allegedly accused of having ties between his campaign team and a businessman, who was caught months ago on suspicion of working for the British intelligence services, in addition to accusations of leaking personal data from the municipality's mobile applications.
According to Bloomberg, Imamoglu was among dozens of CHP mayors removed from office and replaced with pro-Erdoğan members.
In March, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a statement saying that an arrest warrant had been issued against the Istanbul Mayor and 99 others, according to the state-run news agency. Imamoglu was arrested inside his house.
The statement read, "İBB Mayor İmamoğlu and many people forced businessmen to give money, made unjust gains by acting with some businessmen, laundered the money they obtained from crime by making purchases and sales through pawns, and used civilians referred to as 'secret safes' in the transfer and collection of money."
