Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was ordered back into custody on September 6, just over a day after a court released him pending trial in a corruption case, the Habertürk news website reported.
The İstanbul Anadolu 17th High Criminal Court had released Köseler and 12 others on September 4, citing the state of evidence and the length of detention. Prosecutors immediately appealed the decision, and the İstanbul Anadolu 18th High Criminal Court reinstated his detention along with that of four others: Veli Gümüş, Serdar Karahan, Havva Dindar and Uğur İnci.
CHP parliamentary group deputy chair Ali Mahir Başarır denounced the decision, calling it “shameful” in a tweet. “Three days ago, our Beykoz mayor was released. Today he has been taken back into custody with a dubious ruling. These disgraceful decisions by the Turkish judiciary humiliate both our country and our people,” he added.
Köseler was detained at 4:00 a.m. on February 27 in a raid carried out by the financial crimes unit of the İstanbul Police Department at his home in Beykoz.
On March 4 prosecutors requested the arrest of Köseler and 17 others on charges of bid rigging and forming a criminal organization. Thirteen were jailed pending trial, while five were released under judicial supervision. The Interior Ministry suspended Köseler from office immediately after his arrest.
An indictment later filed against 26 people, including Köseler, sought prison sentences ranging from 17 to 67 years for offenses including bid rigging, bribery, abuse of office, forming and leading a criminal organization and laundering illicit assets.
In the March 31, 2024, municipal elections, the CHP won 26 of İstanbul’s 39 district municipalities, in addition to retaining control of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Köseler, 65, was elected mayor with 45.8 percent of the vote in Beykoz, defeating his closest rival from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The municipality was previously run by an AKP mayor.
The investigation into him focuses on irregularities in municipal tenders, particularly involving concerts held during Republic Day celebrations on October 29 of last year. Prosecutors claim that a criminal organization influenced the tender by bribing officials.
The mayor previously denied the allegations of irregularities in tenders in both his testimony to prosecutors and his defense before the court, arguing that he was being held responsible for matters beyond his jurisdiction as mayor.
