A 2024 video of Istanbul’s former mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, made waves this week as prosecutors investigate whether it is related to the corruption the mayor is accused of.
The Interior Ministry refuted his party’s attempt to portray it as ordinary footage.
The video shows security camera footage of Imamoğlu and other bureaucrats from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) meeting at an Istanbul hotel and a bodyguard for the mayor shutting down security cameras. Another suspect is seen carrying two hefty suitcases, giving rise to suspicions that they were full of the money the mayor and others are accused of collecting.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which nominated Imamoğlu as a future presidential candidate, claimed the meeting was nothing unusual. In a statement, CHP officials said the suitcases contained “signal jammers,” while the footage of the bodyguard covering the cameras was simply a security measure to “protect the mayor, who received threats from terrorist groups.”
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a social media post on Tuesday that security detail for any public official had no responsibility to “tape the security cameras” as a security measure. CHP Chair Özgür Özel claimed earlier that it was a routine practice for any bodyguard for any public official. Yerlikaya said no security guard assigned to public officials “carried tape to cover cameras.”
“We have 5,263 security guards protecting (politicians, bureaucrats) and they are not trained in any way to cover the security cameras, nor do they have to do it,” he said.
On Monday, the Turkish National Police, working under the Interior Ministry, denied the official use of signal jammers. The police said mayors or municipalities were not authorized to employ jammers and would be subject to fines if they were found using them.
Ahmet Büyükgümüş, deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said in a social media post on Sunday that they were curious about the secrecy of the meeting.
“What were you hiding?” he wrote.
“Those (accused) of giving free rein to foreign companies for access to the data of 16 million people in Istanbul claim they were trying to protect personal data. They claim jammers were against a terror threat. If you have such fears, you should be more transparent. You are not afraid of terrorism, you are afraid of being caught red-handed,” Büyükgümüş said.
Prosecutors say Imamoğlu was among the leaders of a criminal network apparently enriching themselves through bribes and rigged public tenders. Imamoğlu and dozens of others who were arrested in March are also accused of illegally obtaining personal data, while a separate probe also accuses him, IBB Deputy Secretary-General Mahir Polat, Istanbul’s Şişli District Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan and four others of helping the PKK terrorist group.
The CHP has launched rallies and incited riots after Imamoğlu’s arrest. It claims that Imamoğlu’s arrest is politically motivated, as the party had nominated him for the next presidential election. However, the government argues that the CHP’s claim and pro-Imamoğlu rallies are simply an attempt to cover up the mayor’s alleged wrongdoings, which range from rigging public tenders to taking bribes.
The opposition party, however, remains overtly optimistic of winning the next election despite a spate of corruption allegations. Özel said in an interview on Monday that his party (which has never won a general election against the incumbent AK Party and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in more than two decades) would win 70% of the vote.
“We can then amend the Constitution and then Imamoğlu can be released,” Özel said.
He said even if Imamoğlu remains jailed or had a political ban, they would find “a formula” to get him to office.
“We will have a president elected, it may be Mansur Yavaş (CHP’s Ankara mayor) and Imamoğlu can be a prime minister,” Özel, who has pledged to reinstate the now-defunct presidential system, said.
