Three opposition mayors arrested in southern Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - The mayors of three significant southern Turkish cities were taken into custody on Saturday, according to state-run media, adding to the growing number of opposition figures detained since Istanbul’s mayor was imprisoned in March.

Abdurrahman Tutdere of Adiyaman and Zeydan Karalar of Adana, both members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), were apprehended during early morning raids, Anadolu Agency reported. The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was also arrested—along with two additional suspects—over a separate bribery investigation conducted by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to Yahoo News.

Karalar was detained in Istanbul, while Tutdere was arrested at his home in Ankara before being transferred to Istanbul, a post he confirmed on X. In total, ten individuals, including Karalar and Tutdere, were arrested in a probe led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office over allegations of organized crime, bribery, and bid-rigging.

Prosecutors have not yet released the specific charges, but this operation follows a wave of detentions targeting officials from CHP-controlled municipalities in recent months. The crackdown is grounded in a broader context that began when Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu—widely regarded as the primary challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22-year rule—was jailed four months ago on corruption charges.

Earlier in the week, Turkey’s former CHP mayor of Izmir and 137 municipal staff were detained in connection with investigations into tender-rigging and fraud. On Friday, former Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer and 59 others were remanded in custody in what Soyer’s lawyer called “a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically motivated decision.” Additionally, state media reported that the CHP mayor of Manavgat and 34 others were arrested last Friday on corruption allegations.

CHP leaders claim these arrests constitute a deliberate effort to silence the opposition ahead of future elections. Though the government maintains that prosecutors and the judiciary operate independently, the arrest of Imamoglu sparked the largest street protests Turkey has seen in over a decade.

Following his detention, Imamoglu was officially named his party’s presidential candidate. While the next general election is scheduled for 2028, it could potentially be held earlier.

The intensified crackdown unfolds one year after CHP achieved significant victories in local elections. Adiyaman—hard hit by the 2023 earthquake and once considered a stronghold of Erdogan—was among the opposition-held municipalities captured in that electoral surge.