Turkish mayor detained in corruption probe as opposition faces crackdown

Turkish authorities detained the mayor of an Istanbul district on Saturday, along with 47 officials, as part of a corruption investigation, continuing a crackdown on the country’s main opposition party.

Hasan Mutlu, mayor of Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa district, was taken into custody early Saturday on charges including bribery, embezzlement, fraud and bid rigging by the municipality, according to state broadcaster, TRT Haber.

The Istanbul police reportedly raided 72 locations, seizing documents and detaining Mutlu and several of his deputies.

Mutlu denied the allegations on X, writing: “I have served only Bayrampaşa and you, my esteemed fellow citizens … What has happened consists of political operations and baseless slanders.”

He is the latest in a line of more than a dozen mayors from the Republican People’s party (CHP), along with hundreds of officials, to be arrested in recent months on corruption allegations, including Istanbul’s mayor and leader of CHP, Ekrem İmamoğlu.

İmamoğlu, who is regarded as president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival, was arrested and detained in March, triggering widespread protests in Turkey.

On Friday, he stood trial on charges of falsifying his university degree, with his next hearing scheduled for October. The prosecution is seeking a jail term of up to eight years and nine months and a ban on political activities.

The CHP say the arrests are part of a government clampdown designed to weaken the opposition, clearing the way for Erdoğan to win another five years in office at the next elections in 2028 – or sooner if snap elections are called. The government denies the claims and says Turkey’s courts are independent.

The opposition made huge gains in local elections last year, retaining key cities such as Istanbul and Ankara, as well as making inroads into many strongholds of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development (AK) party.

In a pivotal case due to be heard in Ankara on Monday, a civil court will decide whether to annul the CHP’s 2023 congress, a decision that could change the party’s leadership, potentially causing internal chaos and weakening the party ahead of elections.