3 mayors arrested in southern Turkey as part of crackdown on opposition
[July 05, 2025]
By ANDREW WILKS
ISTANBUL (AP) — The mayors of three major cities in southern Turkey were
arrested Saturday, state-run media reported, joining a growing list of
opposition figures detained since the mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned
in March.
Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adiyaman, and Zeydan Karalar, who
heads Adana municipality, were detained in early morning raids,
according to Anadolu Agency. Both are members of the main opposition
Republican People’s Party, or CHP.
The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was arrested with two other
suspects in a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public
Prosecutor’s Office, Anadolu reported.
CHP officials have faced waves of arrests this year that many consider
aimed at neutralizing Turkey’s main opposition party. The government
insists prosecutors and the judiciary act independently but the arrest
of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu led to the largest street protests
Turkey has seen in more than a decade.
Karalar was arrested near Istanbul and Tutdere was arrested in the
capital, Ankara, where he has a home. Tutdere posted on X that he was
being taken to Istanbul. Police also carried out searches at the
municipal offices in Adana and Adiyaman.

Ten people, including Karalar and Tutdere, were arrested as part of an
investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into
allegations involving organized crime, bribery and bid-rigging. In a
statement, it said the evidence against Karalar and Tutdere had been
supplied by a businessman who cooperated with prosecutors following his
detention for running a criminal organization and paying bribes.
The mayors had “requested unfair financial benefits from company
executives doing business with the municipality,” prosecutors added.
The mayors' detentions follow the arrests of scores of officials from
municipalities controlled by the CHP in recent months.
Following their arrests, CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel convened a meeting of
the party’s senior leadership. Meanwhile, the CHP mayor of Ankara
questioned why municipalities controlled by President's Recep Tayyip
Erdogan' s party were not subjected to the same level of judicial
scrutiny as opposition politicians.
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Ekrem Imamoglu, mayoral candidate for Istanbul of Republican
People's Party (CHP) wipes sweat off his forehead during a press
conference after the local elections, in Istanbul, March 31, 2019.
(AP Photo/File)

“In a system where the law is bent and twisted according to politics,
where justice is applied to one group and ignored by another, no one
should expect us to trust the rule of law or believe in justice,” Mansur
Yavas posted on X.
A wave of arrests targeting the opposition
Imamoglu, widely considered the main challenger to Erdogan ’s 22-year
rule, was jailed four months ago over corruption allegations.
The former CHP mayor of Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, and 137
municipal officials were detained earlier this week as part of an
investigation into alleged tender-rigging and fraud. On Friday, ex-Mayor
Tunc Soyer and 59 others were jailed pending trial in what Soyer’s
lawyer described as “a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically
motivated decision.”
Also Friday, it was reported by state-run media that the CHP mayor of
Manavgat, a Mediterranean resort city in Antalya province, and 34 others
were detained over alleged corruption.
Imamoglu was officially nominated as his party’s presidential candidate
following his imprisonment. Turkey’s next election is due in 2028, but
could come sooner.
The crackdown comes a year after the CHP made significant gains in local
elections. Adiyaman, which was severely affected by the 2023 earthquake,
was among several cities previously considered strongholds for Erdogan
to fall to the opposition.
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