A Turkish court has issued a new arrest order for Istanbul’s imprisoned mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, on accusations of “political espionage,” according to reports from the state-run Anadolu Agency.

The decision marks the latest escalation in what observers describe as an ongoing crackdown on opposition figures in Turkey.

Imamoglu, widely seen as the main political challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan, has been detained since March while awaiting trial on separate corruption charges. The Istanbul mayor, a leading member of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was also handed a new jail sentence in July after being convicted of insulting and threatening the city’s chief prosecutor.

From behind bars, Imamoglu has rejected all allegations, denouncing the latest charge in court on Sunday and again in a statement issued from prison on Friday.

“Such a slander, lie, and conspiracy wouldn’t even cross the devil’s mind!” he wrote on X, condemning what he described as a “shameful indecency that can’t be described with words.”

Turkey seizes pro-opposition TV, arrests chief editor

On Saturday, Turkish authorities seized control of the pro-opposition television channel Tele1, removing its editor-in-chief and restricting its content.

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The channel announced late Friday that a government-appointed trustee had taken it over. By Saturday, all hard news content had been replaced with documentaries and health programming, according to AFP correspondents. Tele1’s YouTube channel was also shut down, with earlier broadcasts reportedly deleted before disappearing entirely.

The trustee takeover was executed by Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), which had been appointed as trustee over Can Holding, a conglomerate under investigation for fraud that includes several media outlets.

Tele1 editor-in-chief detained 

Merdan Yanardag, editor-in-chief of Tele1, was also arrested in connection with a newly launched espionage probe into Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. The mayor has been detained since March as part of a graft investigation widely viewed as politically motivated.

Imamoglu is expected to appear before a judge on Sunday over the spying allegations, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said on X.

Yanardag, communicating through his lawyers, confirmed that his detention was extended by 24 hours. “This is bullying. It is eliminating press and freedom of expression,” he said, calling the developments “a sign the country is heading towards a totalitarian regime.”

Opposition condemns move as blow to press freedom

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel denounced Merdan Yanardag's arrest and Tele1’s seizure as a politically motivated act of opposition media censorship. He further called the espionage charges against Imamoglu “utterly absurd,” adding that Tele1 was targeted because “it reports the facts.”

In a post on X, Ozel accused the government of “trying to spread fear” across political, media, business, and cultural sectors.

Moreover, the CHP has called on supporters to gather outside Istanbul’s Caglayan courthouse on Sunday in solidarity with Imamoglu and Tele1, as concerns grow over the erosion of press freedom in Turkey.

This latest development fits into a broader pattern of government efforts to curb dissenting media voices. By placing a trustee over Tele1 and prosecuting its leadership, authorities have intensified a climate of fear that many say threatens the core of Turkey’s democratic institutions.

Read more: Turkey's Imamoglu warns of democratic crisis if barred from election