On Wednesday (June 4), a fifth wave of arrests hit the Istanbul municipality as part of an ongoing investigation targeting the opposition-controlled city following the March 19th arrest of mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Separately, an investigation was opened into Turkey’s main opposition leader Özgür Özel, who has been accused of threatening members of the judiciary.
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| CHP leader Özel targeted in new investigation as 5th wave of arrests hits Istanbul municipality |
Wednesday’s arrests follow a similar wave of arrests just last week.
22 individuals were arrested in yesterday’s wave, including three district mayors of the megacity and two from Turkey’s southern city of Adana.
Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece district mayor Hasan Akgül, Gaziosmanpaşa district mayor Hakan Bahçetepe, and Avcılar district mayor Utku Caner Çaykara were all detained Wednesday.
Adana’s Ceyhan district mayor Kadir Aydar ve Seyhan district mayor Oya Tekin were also among yesterday’s arrests.
The investigation targets those detained with various crimes, including ‘founding and running a criminal organization’, ‘membership in a criminal organization’, ‘taking bribes’, ‘aggravated fraud’, ‘unlawful possession of personal data’, and ‘corruption in awarding of tenders’.
14 of the 22 individuals arrested Wednesday were released on bail following a judge’s decision.
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| CHP leader Özel targeted in new investigation as 5th wave of arrests hits Istanbul municipality |
Investigation launched into Özgür Özel
Özgür Özel, chairman of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was also targeted with a new investigation launched Thursday morning (June 5).
The investigation accuses the chairman of making threatening statements towards Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek at a political rally in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district protesting the ongoing detention of opposition officials.
In his address at the rally, Özel targeted Gürlek, saying: “Akın, you hit a hard rock, son, you hit a hard rock, you hit a hard rock. Come to your senses. I will not see that dishonor again.”
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In recent months, Gürlek has routinely made headlines for numerous investigations into opposition officials.
The investigation into Özel comes as his CHP party faces a new indictment threatening to remove and replace the party’s top brass over alleged irregularities in leadership selection.
Judicial pressure against Turkey’s opposition
Since at least January, Turkey’s opposition has been under mounting legal pressure in the form of arrests, investigations, and removals of elected officials.
A significant number of officials elected in local elections in March 2024, which saw historic success for the main opposition, have now been arrested, removed, or investigated in what the CHP has characterized as politically motivated.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
