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Istanbul's Chief Prosecutor's Office banned the use of images, audio recordings and photographs of detained, ex-Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on the city's public transportation system, according to a new directive issued to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
The order prohibits any content featuring Imamoglu on metro trains, metrobuses, buses and ferries, as well as at stations and stops throughout the city's transit network. Imamoglu has been in detention since March 23, 2025.
The directive represents an expansion of earlier restrictions. On March 24, Istanbul police had been instructed to remove posters and banners featuring Imamoglu and five other mayors from public spaces across the city.
The ban comes as prosecutors continue a sweeping corruption investigation targeting Imamoglu and numerous Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality officials. On Friday morning, detention orders were issued for 49 people, including senior executives from municipal subsidiaries KIPTAS and ISTAC.
Among those detained were Imamoglu's chief of staff Kadriye Kasapoglu, his security chief Mustafa Akin, KIPTAS General Manager Ali Kurt, and ISTAC General Manager Ziya Gokmen Togay. The Arioglu family, who operate the Eurasia Tunnel, were also taken into custody.
Police conducted simultaneous raids across six provinces—Istanbul, Izmir, Trabzon, Antalya, Tunceli and Kocaeli—detaining 45 of the 49 individuals named in the warrants.
The investigation centers on allegations of organized crime leadership, bribery, fraud, illegal data acquisition and bid-rigging. Imamoglu was removed from his mayoral duties following his arrest on March 19, 2025.
Several of those detained Friday had previously been arrested and released on judicial control measures in earlier waves of the investigation, including Kasapoglu and Deputy Secretary-General Arif Gurkan Alpay.
The probe has also ensnared officials from the municipality's rail systems department, with multiple tender commission members among those detained.
Opposition politicians have criticized the ongoing operations as politically motivated. Main opposition party CHP Deputy Group Chairman Gokhan Gunaydin wrote on social media: "In short, detentions and hearings are intertwined. If you are an IBB manager, you have to be ready for the possibility of an operation every morning."
"There are 1,400 municipalities in Türkiye, the target is IBB and frankly, the target is Imamoglu," Gunaydin added. "Justice is the foundation of religion. The scales you have disrupted will one day weigh you too."
The investigation represents the fourth major wave of operations targeting Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality since Imamoglu's initial detention. A separate operation Thursday resulted in the detention of seven employees from Istanbul Tree and Landscape Inc. on charges of bid-rigging and bribery.
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