ISTANBUL (Medyascope) – Last Friday (March 27), Turkish authorities carried out an operation in Uşak province, leading to the arrest of Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım and 10 other municipal officials.
The arrests were part of a corruption probe launched by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor alleging bribery in provinces controlled by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
In addition to Uşak, three officials from the Aegean province of Marmaris were also detained.
The probe, originally launched in Istanbul in early 2025, has seen numerous waves of arrests. In the summer of 2025, operations expanded beyond Istanbul, leading to the arrests of officials in other opposition-controlled municipalities such as İzmir, Adana, Antalya, and Adıyaman. Critics have alleged that the arrests are politically motivated, pointing to the recent promotion of former Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek to Justice Minister as evidence of erosion of judicial independence in Turkey.
Uşak mayor Özkan Yalım has been accused of ‘receiving bribes from individuals and firms’.
A statement released by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s office alleges that Yalım collected bribes by duplicating invoices for tenders awarded to contractors by the Uşak Municipality.
Regarding the arrests in Marmaris, mayor Acar Ünlü released a statement saying:
“I have been informed that the operation recently carried out targeted specific personnel, not our municipality at an administrative level. I am still on the job, in my office as we speak.”
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick | Turkey’s opposition-controlled municipality raided, 10 arrested
