48 people, including mayor, detained in Turkey

Today, the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul launched an investigation into what it alleged as “bribery” and “bid rigging” within the Bayrampaşa Municipality.

Arrest warrants were issued for 48 people, including the municipality’s mayor, Hasan Mutlu, from Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP).

These judicial moves come as part of a broader campaign targeting several mayors, most notably Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul. The developments have fueled accusations that the measures are politically motivated, aimed at undermining the results of the recent local elections and reasserting control over major municipalities by the ruling authorities, following their imposition of state-appointed trustees on many municipalities in Northern Kurdistan.

The detentions have drawn widespread domestic and international criticism, with warnings of a decline in judicial independence and shrinking democratic space, as they are seen as attempts to silence dissenting voices and impose political dominance by the ruling party.

The Turkish authorities claim that the “measures are legal and conducted within independent investigations,” despite doubts over the impartiality and fairness of these proceedings.

A-H 

ANHA