Turkey detained three more mayors from the main opposition party on Saturday, according to a prosecutor’s statement and media reports.
Over the past few months, Turkish authorities have launched a major crackdown, arresting hundreds of members of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), including 11 mayors.
The highest profile arrest was of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — the main challenger of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22-year rule.
Imamoglu was jailed in March, sparking the largest public protests in a decade.
What do we know about the arrests?
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said the mayors of three big southern cities were detained on allegations of extortion, along with eight other people.
Those held were the mayors of the southern city of Adana, the southern resort town of Antalya and the southeastern town of Adiyaman, CHP party officials said.
“Our Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Antalya Mayor Muhittin Bocek and Adiyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere have been detained,” Mansur Yavas, the mayor of Ankara, Turkey’s capital, wrote on X.
Broadcaster NTV said the men were detained as part of the broader investigation in which hundreds of CHP members, including 11 mayors, have been targeted since October.
Erdogan’s main political rival, Imamoglu, remains in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges that he denies.
More arrests this week
Earlier this week, the former CHP mayor of Izmir, Tunc Soyer and 137 municipal officials were detained over alleged tender-rigging and fraud.
On Friday, Soyer and 59 others were jailed pending trial in what Soyer’s lawyer described as “a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically motivated decision.”
State-run media reported Friday that the CHP mayor of Manavgat, a Mediterranean resort city in Antalya province, and 34 others were detained over alleged corruption.
The CHP broadly denies the charges against its officials, which also include organized crime, bribery and tender rigging. The party says the investigations are politically motivated, aimed at neutralizing the party’s threat to Erdogan.
Government denies involvement
The government insists that prosecutors and the judiciary act independently and denies that the crackdown is linked to the CHP’s huge victory against Erdogan’s AKP in the 2024 local elections.
Following his jailing, the CHP nominated Imamoglu as its presidential candidate for the 2028 election, which could be held earlier.
Erdogan is struggling to maintain public support following accusations of steering Turkey toward authoritarianism. The country continues to face an economic crisis that has caused high inflation and devalued the lira.
Edited by: Kieran Burke
