ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the head of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on charges of threatening and insulting Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, adding to a broad crackdown on the opposition.
The clampdown is centred on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival and leads him in some polls. The CHP’s Imamoglu was jailed in March pending trial on corruption charges, which he denies.
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said in a statement that it launched the probe into CHP leader Ozgur Ozel over comments he made about the chief prosecutor at a rally in Istanbul on Wednesday, criticising the targeting of the opposition.
CHP spokesman Deniz Yucel criticised the decision to open the investigation.
“We will not succumb to this system of lawlessness that you have created,” he said on X.
Imamoglu’s arrest in March triggered mass protests, economic turmoil and broad accusations of government influence over the judiciary and anti-democratic applications. The government denies the accusations and says the judiciary is independent.
Since his arrest, authorities have detained dozens of CHP members, officials from the Istanbul municipality, and other CHP-run municipalities. Access to Imamoglu’s X account was also blocked in Turkey this month.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Michael Perry)
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