55 individuals including mayor Mustafa Bozbey were arrested in Turkey’s northwestern city of Bursa early Tuesday as part of an ongoing probe into Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
This development follows a similar story from yesterday (March 30), in which the opposition-controlled municipality of Uşak was also raided by authorities, leading to the arrest of mayor Özken Yalım and 10 other municipal officials.
Mustafa Bozbey was arrested along with a long list of individuals including several of his family members, businessmen, and municipal officials. Bozbey and his affiliates have been accused of ‘founding an organized crime group’, ‘membership in an organized crime group’, and ‘laundering profits originating from organized crime’.
The CHP organized a demonstration in front of Bursa’s municipal building Tuesday, protesting the arrests as politically motivated.
Bursa now joins a long list of CHP-held provinces in Turkey targeted with investigations since the party made historic gains in 2024’s local elections. Of the 32 provinces won by the party in March 2024, six have been targeted by operations or had their mayors arrested.
Istanbul has been particularly affected by these operations; of the 26 city districts won by the CHP two years ago, 11 have seen their district mayors arrested, two have received a government-appointed trustee, and control over three districts have passed to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) due to arrests of officials and changes in the balance of seats on district councils. Most notably, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is also the CHP’s presidential candidate, has been behind bars for over a year.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick | Mayor of Turkey’s 4th largest city arrested as probe against opposition continues
