Turkey’s main opposition leader has accused a group of prosecutors and lawyers of operating an extortion scheme targeting municipal employees in İstanbul, claiming they used corruption allegations as leverage to extract money in exchange for favorable legal treatment, Turkish Minute reported.
The remarks came amid what the opposition labels as politically driven prosecutions involving the arrest of İstanbul’s mayor and dozens of city officials over the last months.
Speaking at a rally in the Tuzla district of İstanbul, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel alleged that a group he called a “mafia-style network” had formed what he described as a “case market” around the ongoing investigations into the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
“This is not hearsay,” Özel said before a crowd of supporters. “We have documents, dates, bank receipts and surveillance footage. There is a group of prosecutors and their intermediaries — lawyers — demanding bribes in return for help with testimony, dropping charges or securing release. We are submitting the evidence to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors [HSK] tomorrow.”
Since winning major urban centers in the 2019 and 2024 local elections, the CHP has faced increasing pressure from the government, culminating in an ongoing crackdown on CHP-led municipalities across Turkey, with a special focus on İstanbul. Since the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, widely considered President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest electoral rival, in March, more than 70 municipal employees have been detained or put under judicial supervision. Authorities claim they are investigating widespread corruption and abuse of public tenders.
İmamoğlu’s continued detention has drawn international condemnation and triggered mass protests.
Özel’s new claims suggest that some of these legal processes may have been hijacked for profit.
In his speech Özel named lawyer Mehmet Yıldırım as a central figure in the alleged scheme, accusing him of approaching businesspeople and detainees’ families with promises of legal protection — for a price. He claimed that one detainee’s family was told to withdraw cash from a bank and hand it to individuals linked to Yıldırım, who claimed to be acting on behalf of a prosecutor.
Özel said he had the exact date, time, bank withdrawal slip and surveillance footage of the handover. He also cited a 40-minute WhatsApp voice recording that he said would be submitted in transcript form to the judicial oversight body, the HSK.
“They even told people what to say in their statements and then said, ‘This is what the prosecutor wants to hear,’” Özel said. “They fabricated evidence when none existed and tried to recruit false witnesses. They’ve turned this case into a money-making operation.”
He further alleged that some people were briefly connected to prosecutors over the phone to give the appearance of official backing. His speech also referenced claims that a chief prosecutor involved in the İstanbul investigations was living in a villa whose renovation cost the equivalent of 56 teachers’ retirement bonuses.
Echoes of the ‘FETÖ market’
The allegations resemble what has been known in Turkish public discourse as the “FETÖ market” where individuals accused of links to the Gülen movement could allegedly pay bribes to prosecutors or intermediaries in exchange for acquittals or dropped charges.
FETÖ is a derogatory term used in Turkey to describe the Gülen movement as a “terrorist” group.
Erdoğan had lambasted the judiciary in 2013 after a graft probe targeting the highest echelons of his government exposed a bribery scandal. He accused the judges and prosecutors as well as police officers involved in the investigation of working for the Gülen movement, a faith-based group critical of his administration.
Up until 2016 Erdoğan tried to redesign the judiciary by appointing loyalists to critical posts. In July 2016 a botched coup took place, the aftermath of which saw an unprecedented crackdown, mainly on Erdoğan’s opponents.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Following the coup attempt, the Turkish government removed more than 130,000 civil servants, including some 4,000 judges and prosecutors, from their jobs due to alleged Gülen links.
