When the boss of an Istanbul company posted social media “Greetings from Egypt”, in-the-know Turks closely following the Imamoglu prosecution scratched their heads—for the company chief in question, Kemal Sahin, was actually in jail in Turkey.

Sahin on May 13 shared a clip art video on his Instagram account (kemalsahin1), seemingly showing him on a trip to Egypt, where his readywear garments company, Sahinler Holding has plants. The video supposedly showed Sahin visiting the firm’s plant in Alexandria. However, the official record shows that Sahin was detained on May 9 and arrested on May 16.

Sahin was taken into custody as part of the ongoing regime operation against Ekrem Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor who regime critics insist has been jailed and charged with corruption in order to sideline him and destroy his standing as the chief rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he would likely defeat in an election.

Prosecutors and the government media talk of an expanding “investigation” into the so-called “Imamoglu Crime Syndicate” which, if Erdogan is to be believed, resembles an “octopus” with a great many tentacles.

So far, five detention waves have been executed by the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, with the first involving the early morning detention of Imamoglu on March 19 in a police raid on his home. Hundreds of people, including dozens of businessmen, have been arrested. Dozens of companies have been seized.

Couldn’t escape investigative journalism

Regime media responded to Sahin’s Instagram video by revealing that his current whereabouts, namely in a Turkish jail. Sahin was arrested when the Imamoglu operation turned its attention to Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece Municipality.

Reports put out by local media suggested  Sahin tried to hide the fact that he had been arrested from the public and business associates.

Sponsored basketball team

Takvim, a government tabloid, reported on June 5 that Sahin told prosecutors: “Buyukcekmece mayor Hasan Akgun asked me ‘Would you become a sponsor for the municipality basketball team?’ during the process for obtaining a construction permit. I accepted the offer and signed a Turkish lira (TRY) 40mn [$1.02mn] agreement.”

Akgun also reportedly told prosecutors that the sponsorship agreement was entirely legal and was based on advertising.

Elections on June 11

Akgun was jailed after the Imamoglu operation’s fifth detention wave took place. At the same time, Gaziosmanpasa (Istanbul) mayor Hakan Bahcetepe, Avcilar (Istanbul) mayor Utku Caner Caykara, Ceyhan (Adana province district) mayor Kadir Aydar and Seyhan (Adana) mayor Oya Tekin were also put behind bars.

On June 11, district parliaments in Avcilar, Buyukcekmece and Gaziosmanpasa will elect new mayors. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP hold majorities in the Avcilar and Buyukcekmece parliaments, while the local members of the national ruling coalition have a majority in Gaziosmanpasa.

Since the latest local government cycle was launched with the March 2024 local elections, the government has seized  13 municipalities, including three CHP municipalities (Esenyurt, Ovacik and Sisli) and 10 controlled by main pro-Kurdish party DEM.

Currently, 12 CHP mayors in all are in jail.

City district parliaments in Istanbul and Besiktas elected new mayors who are CHP members. Beykoz, Beylikduzu, Ceyhan and Seyhan remain in limbo.

Sahinler Holding, launched in 1982, also has clothes production plants in Bulgaria.