Türkiye detains Istanbul district mayor in corruption probe, says state media
Beyoglu mayor Inan Guney from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was the 16th mayor to have been taken into custody in the crackdown, in which more than 500 people have been detained in less than a year.
Among those in prison is Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, who is being investigated on charges of corruption and links to terrorism.
The CHP denies the charges and calls them an attempt to eliminate a democratic alternative, a charge the government rejects.
TRT Haber said those held in the latest operation are suspected of involvement in fraudulent activities at companies linked to the Istanbul municipality. Arrest warrants were issued for 44 people, including the 40 detained, it said.
On Thursday, CHP mayor Ozlem Cercioglu from the western city of Aydin joined Erdogan's governing AK Party, citing disagreements with the CHP administration.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told reporters, without providing evidence, that AK Party officials had threatened Cercioglu with legal investigations into her municipality and arrest unless she joined the party.
AK Party deputy chair Hayati Yazici called Ozel's allegation 'completely untrue'. Cercioglu also rejected the claim.
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TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
Türkiye detains Istanbul district mayor in corruption probe, says state media
Turkish police detained 40 people including the mayor of Istanbul's central Beyoglu district as part of a corruption investigation, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Friday, the latest wave in a crackdown on the opposition. Beyoglu mayor Inan Guney from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was the 16th mayor to have been taken into custody in the crackdown, in which more than 500 people have been detained in less than a year. Among those in prison is Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, who is being investigated on charges of corruption and links to terrorism. The CHP denies the charges and calls them an attempt to eliminate a democratic alternative, a charge the government rejects. TRT Haber said those held in the latest operation are suspected of involvement in fraudulent activities at companies linked to the Istanbul municipality. Arrest warrants were issued for 44 people, including the 40 detained, it said. On Thursday, CHP mayor Ozlem Cercioglu from the western city of Aydin joined Erdogan's governing AK Party, citing disagreements with the CHP administration. CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told reporters, without providing evidence, that AK Party officials had threatened Cercioglu with legal investigations into her municipality and arrest unless she joined the party. AK Party deputy chair Hayati Yazici called Ozel's allegation 'completely untrue'. Cercioglu also rejected the claim.
Daily Maverick
06-08-2025
- Daily Maverick
Turkey arrests youth activist, drawing European protest
Turkey has arrested an LGBTQ+ youth activist over criticism he made abroad at Europe's main rights body about the repression of opponents by President Tayyip Erdogan's government. Enes Hocaogullari, 23, gave a speech in Strasbourg in March criticising police violence and detentions plus democratic backsliding in Turkey, saying: 'The youth has had enough … We are ready to go on the streets to regain our freedoms.' He was detained on Tuesday night on arrival from France at Ankara's Esenboga Airport pending trial on charges of 'publicly disseminating misleading information' and 'inciting hatred and enmity,' according to a court document seen by Reuters. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office cited his March remarks about detained opposition mayors, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, as the basis for the case. Erdogan's main political opponents have faced an unprecedented crackdown that has seen more than 500 detained in nine months. The president says the arrests tackle corruption. The Council of Europe rights body's congress of local authorities said on Wednesday the charges against Hocaogullari were a reprisal for his words and urged his immediate release. 'The Congress has already expressed deep concern about the state of democracy in Turkey and called on the Turkish authorities to stop prosecuting and detaining elected representatives from opposition parties,' Congress President Marc Cools said in a statement. 'This new attack on a youth delegate for having legitimately exercised the right to express their views in a pluralistic public debate, is scandalous and unacceptable.' The Turkish government did not comment on the case. Ankara has previously rejected Western criticism of its rights record, accusing European institutions of bias and interference. Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body.
Daily Maverick
31-07-2025
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High court drives ‘final nail' into Turkish Karpowership coffin
'The Karpowership deals are now absolutely dead. It will never be loaded on to your electricity bill,' says Outa's executive director, Stefanie Fick. The Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria has formally cancelled the three South African 'emergency power' contracts of the Turkish Karpowership company, nearly a year after two senior government ministers verbally signalled the end to one of South Africa's most controversial electrical power generation agreements. Following a legal settlement agreement reached between the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on 31 July, the high court has formally set aside the power generation licences granted by Nersa to the Istanbul-based floating powerships company. The agreement recognises that any further court action by Outa to review the legality of the licence awards had become 'academic' after it emerged that the minister of mineral and energy resources advised Karpowership in writing on 29 September 2024 that the multibillion-rand deal had been terminated due to Karpowership's failure to reach commercial close or to meet deadlines as a preferred bidder for the power supply contracts. In October 2024, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Environment Minister Dion George both indicated verbally that the deal was dead in the water — but some civil society organisations nevertheless called for iron-clad assurances that the deal was at an end. At the time, The Green Connection environmental justice group asked: 'Why, if the Karpowership deal is truly off the table, is the government still opposing The Green Connection and Outa's court cases?' The Centre for Environmental Rights law clinic in Cape Town had also called for further reassurances from the government, while Karpowership did not acknowledge or respond to requests for clarity. The plan to moor several floating, gas-powered powerships in Richards Bay, Coega and Saldanha harbours came to light nearly five years ago when Daily Maverick exposed the apparent abuse of an emergency procedure to sidestep environmental authorisation procedures during the Covid-19 crisis. A senior Council for Scientific and Industrial Research engineer later estimated that the gas-to-electricity project could cost taxpayers more than R200-billion over 20 years. This week, in the high court, the final nail appears to have been hammered into the coffin of the South African Karpowership plan following the official cancellation of the power generation licence granted by Nersa, the full terms of which were not disclosed. In a media statement on 31 July, Outa noted that it had filed legal papers in April 2022 calling on the high court to review Nersa's decisions to grant the licences. This led to a three-year fight, including a long dispute over access to documents. 'Outa believes this case contributed significantly to the collapse of the Karpowership deals, as Eskom eventually cancelled the grid access. The removal of the generation licences is the final end of this deal. Outa regards this as a significant legal victory, and a huge victory for the public. 'The Karpowership deals are now absolutely dead. It will never be loaded on to your electricity bill,' said Outa's executive director, advocate Stefanie Fick. 'This ruling is a powerful affirmation that decisions involving billions in public funds must comply with the law. We challenged this process because the public deserves transparency, proper oversight and value for money, none of which were present in this licensing saga.' Nersa and Karpowership have not responded to requests for comment on the legal ruling, but any comments will be added when received. DM
