Amine Cansu Çelik, a former ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) politician who later became an opposition city council member in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district, was jailed pending trial days before a critical council vote that returned control of the municipality to the AKP.
According to the TR724 news website, Çelik, who was also serving as a deputy mayor of Üsküdar, was detained on September 2 as part of an investigation by the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into alleged irregularities in building and occupancy permits issued by the municipality. Police took her statement four days after her detention, following which she was jailed pending trial.
Her lawyer, Ülkü İnanlı, said Çelik reported to the police voluntarily after being summoned and was jailed despite a lack of concrete evidence. Prosecutors have not publicly specified what Çelik is accused of doing or disclosed the evidence cited to justify her pretrial detention.
Çelik was arrested shortly before the Üsküdar City Council was due to hold a repeat election for acting mayor following a court challenge to an earlier vote won by the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The vote was called after Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was arrested and suspended from office in July. The council elected CHP member Sibel Tan Çetinkaya as acting mayor on August 5, but a court later ordered a new vote following a challenge by an AKP council member.
Before the repeat election, four council members elected on the CHP ticket joined the AKP, while Çelik and another opposition council member were jailed pending trial, leaving the rival blocs tied at 21 seats each.
On September 8 the council elected AKP candidate Dündar Ziya Gültekin as acting mayor by a 23-19 vote, returning control of Üsküdar to the ruling party.
CHP officials have alleged that the investigations and arrests were used to change the political balance in Üsküdar. Özgür Çelik, the party’s İstanbul provincial chair, said Amine Cansu Çelik’s arrest was intended to facilitate an AKP takeover of the municipality.
Amine Cansu Çelik had previously held positions in the AKP’s Üsküdar organization before resigning from the party in 2022. Announcing her resignation, she criticized what she described as the party’s departure from justice and merit-based governance.
She later joined the CHP and was elected to the Üsküdar City Council in March 2024, when the party won the longtime AKP stronghold, and subsequently became a deputy mayor.
Çelik’s arrest comes amid a series of criminal investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities since the party made significant gains in the 2024 local elections. The investigations have resulted in elected mayors and other municipal officials being jailed pending trial or removed from office.
The CHP says the investigations are politically motivated and are being used to reverse opposition victories in the 2024 elections. The government denies allegations of political interference and claims the judiciary is acting independently.
