Turkish authorities have detained 21 more people in the Manavgat district municipality in southern Turkey as part of a continuing crackdown targeting municipalities governed by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkish Minute reported, citing the state-run TRT Haber.
Prosecutors in Antalya ordered the detention of 21 suspects as part of an ongoing investigation into the previous administration of the Manavgat Municipality.
The detainees include municipal employees, tourism operators, contractors and businesspeople. The investigation concerns allegations of bribery, extortion and forming a criminal organization.
The case has been ongoing since 2025, when former mayor Şükrü Sözen and his brother were arrested on charges including bribery, embezzlement, bid-rigging and money laundering. Large amounts of cash and valuables were seized during searches at the time.
Subsequent operations have led to multiple series of detentions and arrests, including former deputy mayors and dozens of suspects. In a separate case linked to the same municipality, 43 people are currently on trial, five of whom are in pretrial detention.
In Ataşehir, a CHP-run district on İstanbul’s Asian side, Mayor Onursal Adıgüzel and 19 others have been referred to the İstanbul Anadolu Courthouse after being detained in an overnight operation on April 18 as part of a corruption investigation.
Prosecutors said the probe concerns allegations that municipal officials accepted bribes in connection with zoning, construction permits and occupancy approvals at the Ataşehir Municipality.
The İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation includes charges of bribery, bid-rigging and forming a criminal organization, citing financial crime reports, phone records, witness statements and technical findings as evidence.
Among those referred to court are deputy mayors Birkan Birol Yıldız, Orhan Aydoğdu and Oğuz Kaya, along with department heads responsible for finance, zoning and licensing, municipal employees and individuals from the private sector.
Following the April 18 detentions, CHP members and supporters gathered in front of the municipal building, while party officials and lawmakers monitored developments.
İstanbul CHP provincial chairman Özgür Çelik criticized restrictions on access to legal counsel, saying some detainees had not been allowed to meet with their lawyers for hours.
“Sixteen hours have passed, yet there are still colleagues who have not been able to even speak with their lawyers,” he said, describing the situation as “a form of persecution that must end immediately.”
Çelik also questioned the basis of the accusations, saying it remained unclear what Adıgüzel was being charged with and arguing that allegations related to public tenders were unfounded.
CHP deputy parliamentary group leader Murat Emir said the operation amounted to an attack on the will of the voters, accusing authorities of targeting elected officials through judicial means.
Police also detained 29 people, including municipal staff and the CHP’s provincial chairman in the western province of Uşak a day earlier, as part of an expanding corruption investigation targeting the municipality.
The latest developments are part of a broader campaign against CHP-run municipalities that has intensified after the party’s gains in the March 2024 local elections.
The most prominent target remains İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival, whose corruption trial began in March after nearly a year of pretrial detention.
