A Turkish court has jailed the mayor of the western resort town of Kuşadası in Aydın province and four others on bribery and extortion charges as part of an investigation led by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Anka news agency.
Mayor Ömer Günel of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was arrested on Monday along with municipal building control director Mustafa Burak Gündeş, municipal architect and urban planner Meral Celep, former Kuşadasıspor club president Ferdi Zenginoğlu and businessman Hüseyin Kabasakal.
Another suspect, zoning and urban planning director Ahmet Taşkan, was released under judicial supervision. The suspects had been detained in police operations on March 13.
The arrests come amid rising political tensions in Aydın province, where Metropolitan Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu defected from the CHP to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in a surprise move last year.
The CHP has faced an expanding legal crackdown since its strong performance in the March 2024 local elections. Fifteen of its mayors are currently in prison, mostly on corruption or terrorism-related charges that rights groups say are politically motivated. Courts have also annulled party congress results and appointed trustees to replace elected officials in several municipalities.
CHP condemns arrests
CHP lawmaker Mahmut Tanal criticized the arrests, saying that judicial practices differ based on political affiliation. He said opposition mayors face detention and imprisonment, while politicians who join the ruling party see investigations dropped or end in acquittals.
He was referring to the acquittal of Çerçioğlu last month in a bid-rigging case.
Prosecutors had sought a six-year prison sentence and a ban from public office for Çerçioğlu on charges of “repeated bid rigging” and “repeated misuse of public office” in connection with municipal tenders conducted between 2013 and 2015. Her acquittal came six months after she defected from the CHP.
Çerçioğlu had been a member of the CHP for 23 years before joining the AKP on August 4, 2025, along with eight other former opposition mayors during an event marking the party’s 24th anniversary.
The CHP claims that the defections of its mayors are driven by threats, intimidation and political pressure amid an ongoing crackdown on the party.
CHP Deputy Chair Burhanettin Bulut also condemned the latest arrests, vowing that the party would not yield to what he described as unlawful actions and political pressure targeting democratic institutions.
Court lifts house arrest for İstanbul official
In a separate development a court lifted the house arrest order imposed on İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary-General Mahir Polat.
Polat was detained in March 2025 as part of an investigation into alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and was later released under house arrest due to health concerns after being hospitalized and undergoing an angioplasty.
He was among dozens of municipal officials detained along with İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The court has now removed the house arrest order.
Polat’s detention had raised public concern due to reported health issues, including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and sleep apnea. Legal experts have criticized the case, saying it relied heavily on anonymous witness testimony rather than concrete evidence.
