As part of the ongoing operations against the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) municipalities, Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere were detained on Saturday morning.
CHP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut announced soon after that Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek was also detained.
I am being taken to Istanbul,” CHP Mayor of Adıyaman Abdurrahman Tutdere said on his X account.
on 1 July, raids of the municipality building were carried out, in which 138 people, including Mayor Tunç Soyer and CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu were detained.
More than 2,000 people were detained, including journalists.
Zeydan Karalar, the mayor of Adana, and Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adıyaman, were arrested on Saturday morning as part of the ongoing operations against the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) municipalities.
Muhittin Böcek, the mayor of Antalya, was also arrested shortly after, according to CHP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut.
On his social media site X, Bulut stated: “Those who use the legal system as a stick for political retaliation are more concerned with preserving their own authority than with upholding the law. Bulut declared, “This corrupt system that undermines the nation’s will will never be accepted by us.
“In the morning, I was arrested from my home in Ankara. Abdurrahman Tutdere, the CHP Mayor of Adıyaman, posted on his X account, “I am being taken to Istanbul.”.
Using a search warrant, authorities reportedly conducted a raid on the Adana municipality building at the same time that Mayor Karalar was taken into custody.
Arrest warrants were issued for ten individuals, including the detained mayors, as part of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation against the “Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal organization.”.
Investigations against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) led to Aktaş’s arrest. After being arrested on suspicion of being the head of a “criminal organization,” the businessman was freed on June 4th on the grounds of “effective repentance.”.
Erdoğan has made references to corruption in other provinces in the past.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, had previously supported the ongoing operations, stating that “all of the documents are publicly available.”. Sadly, things are terrible not just in Istanbul but also in other provinces,” highlighting the necessity of quick sweeps to fight corruption.
The third-largest city in the nation, Izmir, was soon the subject of an investigation. 138 individuals, including Mayor Tunç Soyer and CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu, were arrested during raids on the municipality building on July 1.
Heval Savaş Kaya, the head of IZBETON, a concrete production company that receives subsidies from the Izmir municipality, was among the 35 additional people who were arrested on July 4th, out of the 99 people who had outstanding arrest warrants.
An inquiry against the provinces of Antalya and Manavgat, which are controlled by the CHP, was started that same day. 36 people, including Niyazi Nefi Kara, the mayor of Manavgat, had detention warrants issued for them.
The first target of the crackdown was Istanbul.
Istanbul was where this legal action against CHP municipalities began. As part of an investigation into corruption and bribery, Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested on March 23 after being detained on March 18, one day after his diploma from Istanbul University was revoked.
Only days before İmamoğlu was scheduled to formally be nominated as the CHP’s presidential candidate in the 2028 elections, he was arrested. Many people view the Istanbul mayor as Erdoğan’s primary political opponent, and his targeting is perceived as an effort to eradicate his rival.
In his denial of the accusations, Erdoğan reaffirmed that members of the CHP were the ones who provided the information about widespread corruption. He also implied that the party is aware that his government has good reason to initiate an investigation.
The fact that the largest radishes are still in the saddlebags is perfectly known to them. According to the Turkish president, this is the cause of their panic. The Turkish proverb “biggest radish is still in the saddlebag” alludes to a greater leverage or surprise that would be employed if needed.
On the day of his arrest, however, İmamoğlu was declared the CHP’s presidential candidate with almost 15 million votes. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya then declared that he had been forcibly removed from his position as mayor. İmamoğlu was temporarily replaced by Nuri Aslan, a member of the CHP municipal council.
The detention and subsequent arrest of İmamoğlu sparked widespread protests that expanded into the biggest gatherings Turkey has witnessed in over a decade.
Police responded to protests harshly, using water cannons, pepper spray, and tear gas to quell the agitation. Violence was also used to quell protests in other cities, such as Izmir and the capital, Ankara.
Journalists were among the more than 2,000 individuals arrested. After their arrests, about 300 people were charged in court and taken into custody.
