Turkish police on Monday detained the mayor of Gelendost, a district in the southwestern province of Isparta, and five others as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, TR724 reported.
Gelendost Mayor Mustafa Özmen was taken into custody on March 24 under orders from the Yalvaç Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to a written statement released by the Isparta Governor’s Office.
The detentions followed coordinated raids conducted by the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Division of the provincial police.
Özmen, elected in the 2024 local elections as a candidate for the nationalist İYİ (Good) Party, resigned from the party after its leader, Meral Akşener, stepped down in April of that year. He has since been serving as an independent.
Local media reports had previously raised allegations of misconduct involving Özmen, prompting prosecutors to launch a formal investigation. He and the five other detainees were transferred to the prosecutor’s office for further questioning.
The detentions come amid a broader crackdown on opposition figures in Turkey. On March 19 İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), a prominent rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was detained on charges of corruption and alleged ties to terrorism. His detention and subsequent arrest have sparked widespread protests nationwide, with more than 1,100 arrested during demonstrations demanding his release.
In Ankara, prosecutors have opened an investigation into the opposition-run metropolitan municipality over payments for public concerts. The city is run by the CHP’s Mansur Yavaş, who is also seen as a potential challenger to Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election.
