Turkish courts have jailed four mayors and an acting mayor pending trial in corruption investigations targeting municipalities, while police on Tuesday detained 45 people, including a former mayor, in a new operation in the western province of İzmir, according to Turkish media reports.
The decisions involve three mayors in the southern province of Mersin and the mayor and acting mayor of two İstanbul districts.
They come amid mounting pressure on municipalities won by the Republican People’s Party (CHP), then Turkey’s main opposition party, in the 2024 local elections.
Opposition parties say the investigations aim to weaken President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rivals and reverse their electoral gains. The government denies political interference and says prosecutors and courts act independently.
Three Mersin mayors jailed
A court on Tuesday jailed Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer, Yenişehir district Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli district Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer in investigations into alleged procurement irregularities, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Seçer also heads the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, which represents local governments nationwide.
Prosecutors allege that 13 tenders and 63 direct purchases at the metropolitan municipality caused losses of about 331 million lira ($6.7 million). Separate investigations allege losses of approximately 1.01 billion lira ($20.6 million) in the Mezitli Municipality and 105 million lira ($2.1 million) in the Yenişehir Municipality.
Tuncer, who was expelled from the CHP in September, also faces a separate investigation on suspicion of leading an armed criminal organization, including allegations that he ordered attacks on premises belonging to people with whom he had disputes.
İstanbul mayor and acting mayor jailed
In İstanbul’s Eyüpsultan district, a court jailed Mayor Mithat Bülent Özmen and 12 others in an investigation overseen by Ankara prosecutors. Fifteen suspects were released under judicial supervision.
Özmen faces allegations of bid-rigging, accepting bribes and membership in a criminal organization. His victory on the CHP ticket in 2024 ended three decades of municipal rule by parties from Turkey’s Islamist-conservative political tradition.
In Ataşehir acting Mayor Murat Güneş and four others were jailed late Monday. Nine suspects were released under judicial supervision.
İstanbul Anadolu prosecutors allege that municipal officials demanded bribes from construction companies in exchange for zoning approvals and occupancy permits, with some payments made in foreign currency and luxury-store gift cards.
Güneş was elected acting mayor on April 30 after the Interior Ministry suspended Mayor Onursal Adıgüzel following his arrest in a corruption investigation.
The latest operation followed the defection to Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of six city council members elected on the CHP ticket.
New Party leader Özgür Özel alleged that the defectors had been pressured, blackmailed or offered money and that Güneş was detained after refusing demands to resign.
Former Bayraklı mayor detained
In İzmir police on Tuesday detained 45 people, including former Bayraklı mayor Serdar Sandal, after prosecutors issued detention warrants for 48 suspects.
The investigation concerns allegations of forming a criminal organization, bribery and bid-rigging. Prosecutors said it draws on reports from the Court of Accounts and the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), surveillance and other evidence.
The suspects include former municipal and municipal-company executives and employees as well as business owners and representatives. Sandal served as mayor from 2019 to 2024 after being elected on the CHP ticket.
The investigations into opposition municipalities intensified after İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading political rival of Erdoğan, was jailed pending trial on corruption charges in March 2025. Dozens of opposition mayors and municipal officials have since been detained or jailed.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
