Turkish police on Wednesday detained 11 employees of Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa Municipality, in a growing corruption investigation that has already led to the arrest and suspension of the district’s mayor, amid a growing series of probes into municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
According to the Kronos Haber news website, police carried out simultaneous raids at multiple İstanbul locations early Wednesday after detention warrants were issued for 13 people linked to the municipality, the latest round in the investigation. Eleven people were taken into custody, while two others were being sought. Bayrampaşa Mayor Hasan Mutlu was previously arrested in the case, and at least 20 people have been jailed so far.
The investigation stems from allegations that municipal officials improperly manipulated bid processes and solicited or accepted bribes and other benefits in connection with contracts and public procurement at the Bayrampaşa Municipality, including claims of embezzlement and fraud, according to previous court filings in the case. Mayor Mutlu has denied the allegations.
The case is part of a broader crackdown on the CHP that has intensified since the party’s sweeping victory in the March 2024 local elections, when it again won İstanbul, Ankara and other major cities and secured the largest share of the national vote for the first time in decades.
The CHP described the probes and operations as part of a year-long government campaign targeting its municipalities and mayors in a report titled “Judiciary Against the Ballot Box: The Anatomy of a Coup,” released in late October.
According to the report 16 CHP mayors are currently jailed, while trustees have been appointed to 13 municipalities across the country. The report documented mass arrests, politically motivated prosecutions and the seizure of opposition-run municipalities following the 2024 elections. It also noted a surge in corruption and terrorism-related investigations into CHP officials since the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March 2025, calling his case “the most visible example of political pressure on the opposition.”
The CHP argued that the government has increasingly relied on the judiciary “as a political weapon” to roll back opposition gains at the ballot box. Citing hundreds of arrests in nine operations targeting the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality between March and August 2025, the party said the crackdown violates constitutional guarantees of local autonomy and the presumption of innocence.
Opposition figures and rights groups also contend that the probes are being used to intimidate opposition-led municipalities and overturn election results unfavorable to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
