The court in Istanbul did not press ‘terror’ charges against Ekrem Imamoglu.

Axar.az reports that the criminal court of peace rejected the prosecutor’s request to arrest Imamoglu on terrorism charges.

"Although there is strong suspicion of aiding an armed terrorist organisation, since it has already been decided that he will be arrested for financial crimes, (his arrest) is not deemed necessary at this stage,” the statement read.

Notably, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Sunday by the on-duty criminal court of peace as part of a corruption investigation into the Turkish metropolitan municipality.​​​​​​​

The on-duty Magistrate Court has decided to arrest the suspect, Ekrem Imamoglu, on charges of establishing and leading a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion, unlawfully recording personal data, and interfering with a tender, within the framework of a financial investigation.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched investigations against Imamoglu and 99 other suspects on charges, including leading a criminal organization, membership in a criminal organization, embezzlement, bribery, aggravated fraud, unlawful acquisition of personal data, and rigging public tenders.