Turkish authorities carried out a pre-dawn operation Wednesday against the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, detaining 17 people as part of an expanding bribery and corruption investigation into local governments run by the main-opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkish media reported.
Prosecutors said warrants were issued for 20 suspects, with those detained including Zeynep Kerimoğlu, the former daughter-in-law of suspended Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek, businessman Emin Hesapçıoğlu and several senior municipal officials.
The Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has been leading the investigation, which earlier this summer resulted in the arrest of Böcek himself. He was detained on July 5, arrested two days later on bribery charges and removed from office. Kerimoğlu was taken into custody at the same time but later released under judicial supervision with a foreign travel ban. Böcek’s son, Gökhan, was abroad at the time but was arrested on August 20 after returning to Turkey.
The prosecutors said four contractors paid a total of 195 million lira (about $6 million) in bribes to Mayor Böcek and his son to ensure payment for municipal projects.
Böcek, who remains in pretrial detention, was briefly taken to a hospital this week for a medical examination before being returned to prison, authorities said.
The raids in Antalya are part of a broader anti-corruption drive that has targeted CHP-led municipalities across Turkey. The government insists the operations are necessary to tackle systemic corruption, while opposition leaders say the investigations are politically motivated and designed to weaken the CHP ahead of the next general election scheduled for 2028.
The CHP, buoyed by sweeping victories in the 2024 local elections, has faced mounting pressure since March, when Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was jailed. At least 15 CHP mayors remain behind bars on corruption or terrorism-linked charges that rights groups say are politically motivated.
International human rights groups and lawmakers in Europe have raised concerns over the rule of law in Turkey, warning that the mass detentions and legal pressures could further erode democratic norms. Silivri Prison, where many opposition figures are being held, has become a symbol of the country’s deepening political tensions.
