Three mayors arrested in southern Turkey as part of Erdogan's crackdown on opposition
Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adiyaman, and Zeydan Karalar, who heads Adana municipality, were detained in early morning raids, according to Anadolu Agency. Both are members of the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP.
The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was arrested with two other suspects in a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Anadolu reported.
Karalar was arrested in Istanbul and Tutdere was arrested in the capital, Ankara, where he has a home. Tutdere posted on X that he was being taken to Istanbul.
Ten people, including Karalar and Tutdere, were arrested as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into allegations involving organized crime, bribery and bid-rigging.
Details of the charges against them were not immediately released by prosecutors but the operation follows the arrests of scores of officials from municipalities controlled by the CHP in recent months.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely considered the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 22-year rule, was jailed four months ago over corruption allegations.
The former CHP mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, and 137 municipal officials were detained earlier this week as part of an investigation into alleged tender-rigging and fraud. On Friday, ex-mayor Tunc Soyer and 59 others were jailed pending trial in what Soyer's lawyer described as 'a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically motivated decision.'
Also Friday, it was reported by state-run media that the CHP mayor of Manavgat, a Mediterranean resort city in Antalya province, and 34 others were detained over alleged corruption.
CHP officials have faced waves of arrests this year that many consider aimed at neutralizing Turkey's main opposition party. The government insists prosecutors and the judiciary act independently but the arrest of Istanbul's Imamoglu led to the largest street protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade.
Imamoglu was officially nominated as his party's presidential candidate following his imprisonment. Turkey's next election is due in 2028 but could come sooner.
The crackdown comes a year after the CHP made significant gains in local elections. Adiyaman, which was severely affected by the 2023 earthquake, was among several cities previously considered strongholds for Erdogan to fall to the opposition.
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First Post
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- First Post
Turkey detains three more opposition mayors amid bribery probe
The early morning arrests were the latest measure against Republican People's Party (CHP) elected officials as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's administration increases pressure on the party, which scored a massive victory over his AKP in the 2024 local elections and is climbing in the polls read more This handout photograph taken and released by the Republican People's Party (CHP) press office on March 29, 2025, shows an aerial view of a large crowd gathering during a rally called by the CHP, Turkey's main opposition party, in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor Ekrem Imanoglu in Maltepe, on the outskirts of Istanbul. AFP Turkey detained three more opposition mayors early Saturday as part of a probe into alleged bribery, according to officials from the major opposition CHP, who described it as a 'political operation'. The early morning arrests were the latest measure against Republican People's Party (CHP) elected officials as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's administration increases pressure on the party, which scored a massive victory over his AKP in the 2024 local elections and is climbing in the polls. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They were tied to an investigation into suspected fraud that ended in the March ouster of Istanbul's prominent opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, whose arrest provoked widespread protests in Turkey's worst street turmoil since 2013. Imamoglu is Erdogan's biggest political rival and the CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential race. Earlier this week, police arrested 137 people as part of a probe into alleged graft in the opposition stronghold of Izmir, Turkey's third city. They were still seeking others under a prosecutors' arrest warrant that named 157 people. The latest detainees were based in southern Turkey: mayor of the southern city of Adana, Zeydan Karalar, mayor of the resort town of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, and the mayor of Adiyaman in the southeast, Abdurrahman Tutdere. As he was being led away to a police car, a journalist asked Karalar why he was being arrested. 'Where there is an influential journalist or politician, they silence them,' he replied. 'In a system where the law bends and sways according to politics, where justice is applied for one group and ignored for another, no one should expect us to trust in the rule of law or believe in justice,' wrote Mansur Yavas on X, opposition mayor of Ankara, Turkey's capital. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We will not bow to injustice, lawlessness, or political operations.' The pro-Kurdish DEM party, the third largest in Turkey's parliament, also denounced the arrests in a strongly-worded statement. 'Stop persecuting elected officials' 'This persecution of elected officials must stop,' wrote DEM co-president Tulay Hatimogullari on X. 'Not respecting the decisions of the people at the ballot box and not recognising the will of the people is causing deep rifts,' she wrote. 'These operations are not a solution, but block the road to a democratic Turkey.' DEM has in recent months been working closely with Erdogan's government to facilitate moves to end the decades-long conflict with the Kurds, facilitating talks which in May saw Kurdish PKK militants ending their bloody armed struggle in a conflict that cost nearly 40,000 lives. Saturday's arrests were the latest in a slew of legal manoeuvres targeting the CHP. On Monday, an Ankara court began hearing a case against the party involving allegations of vote-buying at its 2023 leadership primary which could end up overturning the election of CHP's popular leader Ozgur Ozel, who rose to prominence for his role in leading the March protests. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Anadolu news agency said the Adana and Adiyaman mayors were linked to a case opened by the Istanbul public prosecutors office into alleged tender rigging and bribery. Police also arrested the deputy mayor of Istanbul's Buyukcekmece district Ahmet Sahin as part of the same probe, BirGun news website said. Antalya's mayor was held over a separate investigation launched by the resort town's chief public prosecutor into allegations of bribery, with police also arresting his son, it said.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
After Imamoglu, Turkey arrests three more opposition mayors
The mayors of three major cities in southern Turkey were arrested Saturday, state-run media reported, joining a growing list of opposition figures detained since the mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned in March. A supporter holds a flag of Istanbul's detained Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and the First President of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during a protest(AFP) Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adiyaman, and Zeydan Karalar, who heads Adana municipality, were detained in early morning raids, according to Anadolu Agency. Both are members of the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was arrested with two other suspects in a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Anadolu reported. Karalar was arrested in Istanbul and Tutdere was arrested in the capital, Ankara, where he has a home. Tutdere posted on X that he was being taken to Istanbul. Ten people, including Karalar and Tutdere, were arrested as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into allegations involving organized crime, bribery and bid-rigging. Details of the charges against them were not immediately released by prosecutors but the operation follows the arrests of scores of officials from municipalities controlled by the CHP in recent months. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely considered the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 's 22-year rule, was jailed four months ago over corruption allegations. The former CHP mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, and 137 municipal officials were detained earlier this week as part of an investigation into alleged tender-rigging and fraud. On Friday, ex-mayor Tunc Soyer and 59 others were jailed pending trial in what Soyer's lawyer described as 'a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically motivated decision.' Also Friday, it was reported by state-run media that the CHP mayor of Manavgat, a Mediterranean resort city in Antalya province, and 34 others were detained over alleged corruption. CHP officials have faced waves of arrests this year that many consider aimed at neutralizing Turkey's main opposition party. The government insists prosecutors and the judiciary act independently but the arrest of Istanbul's Imamoglu led to the largest street protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade. Imamoglu was officially nominated as his party's presidential candidate following his imprisonment. Turkey's next election is due in 2028 but could come sooner. The crackdown comes a year after the CHP made significant gains in local elections. Adiyaman, which was severely affected by the 2023 earthquake, was among several cities previously considered strongholds for Erdogan to fall to the opposition.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Three mayors arrested in southern Turkey as part of Erdogan's crackdown on opposition
ISTANBUL: The mayors of three major cities in southern Turkey were arrested on Saturday, state-run media reported, joining a growing list of opposition figures detained since the mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned in March. Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adiyaman, and Zeydan Karalar, who heads Adana municipality, were detained in early morning raids, according to Anadolu Agency. Both are members of the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP. The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was arrested with two other suspects in a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Anadolu reported. Karalar was arrested in Istanbul and Tutdere was arrested in the capital, Ankara, where he has a home. Tutdere posted on X that he was being taken to Istanbul. Ten people, including Karalar and Tutdere, were arrested as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into allegations involving organized crime, bribery and bid-rigging. Details of the charges against them were not immediately released by prosecutors but the operation follows the arrests of scores of officials from municipalities controlled by the CHP in recent months. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely considered the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 22-year rule, was jailed four months ago over corruption allegations. The former CHP mayor of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, and 137 municipal officials were detained earlier this week as part of an investigation into alleged tender-rigging and fraud. On Friday, ex-mayor Tunc Soyer and 59 others were jailed pending trial in what Soyer's lawyer described as 'a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically motivated decision.' Also Friday, it was reported by state-run media that the CHP mayor of Manavgat, a Mediterranean resort city in Antalya province, and 34 others were detained over alleged corruption. CHP officials have faced waves of arrests this year that many consider aimed at neutralizing Turkey's main opposition party. The government insists prosecutors and the judiciary act independently but the arrest of Istanbul's Imamoglu led to the largest street protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade. Imamoglu was officially nominated as his party's presidential candidate following his imprisonment. Turkey's next election is due in 2028 but could come sooner. The crackdown comes a year after the CHP made significant gains in local elections. Adiyaman, which was severely affected by the 2023 earthquake, was among several cities previously considered strongholds for Erdogan to fall to the opposition.
