53 municipal employees have been arrested in a new investigation targeting the opposition-held city. These developments come following the March 19th arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and an ensuing wave of protests across Turkey.
| 53 arrested in second investigation targeting Istanbul municipality |
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| 53 arrested in second investigation targeting Istanbul municipality |
Şafak Başa, head of Istanbul’s municipal water authority İSKİ, as well as İmamoğlu’s secretary Kadriye Kasapoğlu were the most prominent names arrested over the weekend. The Istanbul municipality’s deputy secretary general Arik Gürkan Alpay was also detained as part of the investigation.
Cevat Kaya, imprisoned Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s wife’s brother is also among the detainees. Kaya is being held for suspicion of “being a member of a criminal organization, bribery and corruption”.
The raids and arrests carried out in connection with the investigation took place in Istanbul, Ankara, and Tekirdağ.
Those arrested are accused of “establishing an organization with the goal of committing crimes, fraud, giving bribes, and tampering in the awarding of municipal tenders.”
İSKİ head Şafak Başa released a statement Monday (April 28) describing the allegations as “totally baseless slander” Additionally, one of the plaintiffs in the case is reportedly an individual from whom Başa had previously requested extra security protection due to threats made against him.
Following Başa’s arrest over the weekend, news emerged that he has been reportedly suffering from heart-related health issues which may require an operation.
A first investigation against the Istanbul municipality which led to İmamoğlu’s arrest had targeted alleged corruption among municipal officials as well as alleged cooperation between Istanbul municipal officials and the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
İstanbul Zoning and Urban Planning director’s testimony
Ramazan Gülten, Head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Directorate of Zoning and Urban Planning, gave a statement to the Financial Crimes Division amid allegations of misconduct related to advertising tenders.
Gülten faces accusations of establishing a criminal organisation, bribery, rigging tenders, extortion, and aggravated fraud.
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In his testimony, Gülten rejected all allegations. He has served as Head of the Directorate of Zoning and Urban Planning since June 2024, having previously worked as Zoning Director from 2019 to 2024.
During questioning, Gülten stated that he did not know the companies or the owners implicated in the investigation.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
