Judicial pressure on Istanbul municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) continued Tuesday (March 11), with 32 further arrests reported. An ongoing investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor targets alleged irregularities in the awarding of municipality tender contracts.
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Arrest warrants for a further six individuals have also been announced.
The investigation alleges that various CHP officials provided funding to the banned Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) through municipality tenders. The Marxist-Leninist DHKP/C is banned in Turkey and classified as a terrorist organization due to its assassinations of public officials and numerous suicide bombings over the years.
Investigation targets CHP officials from Istanbul’s Ataşehir, Maltepe, Sarıyer, and Şişli districts.
According to the statement released by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor, the investigation focuses on the municipality tenders in these districts from the 2014-2016 era.
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Judicial ‘blockade’ against the CHP
Mounting legal pressure and numerous investigations in recent months against the CHP has led some to label the developments as a ‘judicial blockade’.
Just last week, the CHP’s Istanbul head was hit with a new investigation, and the party’s Beykoz district mayor was arrested and deposed.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, viewed by many as the strongest potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is currently targeted by five separate investigations. The latest, launched two weeks ago, targets the mayor’s allegedly falsified university degree.
Since the start of the year, dozens of CHP officials across Istanbul have been detained in investigations targeting corruption and alleged terror connections.
CHP chairman Özgür Özel has denounced the investigations as politically motivated.
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Meanwhile, the CHP is currently planning to announce the early nomination of a presidential candidate. The move aims to shield likely candidate İmamoğlu from prosecution and precipitate early elections ahead of the planned 2028 polls.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
