"The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near. The march of our nation, thirsty for justice, law, and democracy, cannot be stopped," Imamoglu said of the University's action and added, "We are facing great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged," in a video post on social media.
Imamoglu is also suspected of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) by allegedly allying with a Kurdish umbrella organization for the Istanbul municipal elections.
In 2022, Imamoglu was sentenced to two years and seven months in jail and banned from political activities for insulting members of Turkiye's High Election Council, a sentence that Imamoglu has appealed.
Imamoglu was elected mayor of Istanbul in March 2019 in a historic blow to Erdogan and the AKP, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. The AKP pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.
Imamoglu won the second election held a few months later, and the mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which his party made significant gains against Erdogan's AKP.
The Turkish markets and economy reacted significantly to the arrest of Imamoglu. The Istanbul Stock Exchange's main index dropped by 7%, triggering a temporary halt to trading to prevent panic selling and to stabilize the market.
The Turkish lira lost more than 10% of its value against the US dollar and the euro, which was a record low of more than 42 versus the greenback, though later it was trading down 6.2% at 38.95.
Investors are mainly Turkish locals and are affected by political upheavals. The declines were the worst in the world among respective asset classes.
Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian stance and detention of his biggest rival caused investors to sell Turkish assets as fears of political instability grew.
Experts have said the market's reaction to the arrest was a deadly blow to the Turkish central bank's fight against inflation as the lower lira raises import prices.
Last month, inflation was down, interest-rate cuts, and hopes of closer ties with the EU had pushed Turkish stocks into a bull market earlier this month, while the lira carry trade was still viewed as attractive.
Investors see that Erdogan intends to tighten his grip on power by preventing his biggest political rival from running in presidential elections due in 2028. Experts suggest that serious investors in Turkey may see Imamoglu as potentially better for business, whereas Erdogan has made repeated economic decisions that ended in disaster.
Erdogan may be willing to allow the Turkish economy to suffer, as long as his future seat in office is secure. Economists point to a weakening of state institutions and the rule of law, which suggests politics are placed above economic prosperity.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.
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