Mounting legal pressure against Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) continued Monday (March 3), with news emerging of the arrest of an Istanbul district mayor as well as a new investigation into CHP Istanbul head Özgür Çelik.
| Turkish opposition faces continued pressure with new arrest, investigation |
|---|
 |
These developments follow increasing legal pressure on Turkey’s main opposition party in recent weeks and months.
The CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Beykoz district Alaattin Köseler was arrested Monday after the launch of an investigation last week into alleged “corruption in the awarding of construction tenders” and “misuse of public office”.
Köseler denied the charges against him in a statement given to prosecutors, saying that the tenders in the Beykoz municipality were awarded in an ethical manner without interference from his administration.
- Turkey: Crackdown on opposition continues with new arrests, investigations
- Istanbul’s Beykoz district mayor detained
On Tuesday afternoon (March 4), news emerged that Köseler had officially been removed from office due to the ongoing investigation.
CHP Istanbul party chairman Özgür Çelik confirmed his own investigation in an interview with Halk TV station. The investigation into Çelik reportedly relates to a protest organized on January 31st, when Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was scheduled to give a statement at an İstanbul courthouse regarding one of the many currently active court cases against him.
| Turkish opposition faces continued pressure with new arrest, investigation |
|---|
 |
İmamoğlu alleges irregularities in Beykoz investigation
At a CHP meeting last week regarding the nomination of the party’s presidential candidate, İmamoğlu took aim at the investigation into Köseler.
Medyascope'u destekle. Medyascope'a abone ol.
Medyascope’u senin desteğin ayakta tutuyor. Hiçbir patronun, siyasi çıkarın güdümünde değiliz; hangi haberi yapacağımıza biz karar veriyoruz. Tıklanma uğruna değil, kamu yararına çalışıyoruz. Bağımsız gazeteciliğin sürmesi, sitenin açık kalması ve herkesin doğru bilgiye erişebilmesi senin desteğinle mümkün.
In his comments, İmamoğlu alleged that the investigation into the Beykoz district mayor Alaattin Köseler was initiated without the knowledge of a prosecutor:
“Last week in the evening, the police came to Beykoz Municipality. They asked for some files. They had a document signed by the prosecutor. Do you know what happened? That prosecutor didn’t even know about it. The prosecutor whose signature was seen on the document didn’t even know about that document. Naturally, he didn’t have a signature either.”
Alaattin Köseler was being held in detention for four days prior to the issuance of his arrest warrant this morning.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
