{"id":39531,"date":"2026-03-13T16:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/39531\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:21:11","slug":"mayor-detained-in-western-turkey-as-crackdown-on-main-opposition-deepens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/39531\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor detained in western Turkey as crackdown on main opposition deepens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Turkish authorities have detained an opposition mayor in western Turkey as part of a bribery and misconduct investigation, the latest move in an expanding legal campaign targeting municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP), Turkish Minute<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

\u00d6mer G\u00fcnel, the mayor of Ku\u015fadas\u0131, a large resort town on Turkey\u2019s Aegean coast, was taken into custody on Friday along with five other suspects. The operation was coordinated by the \u0130stanbul Chief Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office, which said investigators had reached a \u201creasonable suspicion of crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said simultaneous raids were carried out in Ayd\u0131n, \u0130zmir and Antalya provinces. Detainees include the municipality\u2019s zoning and urban planning director, identified only by the initials A.T., and the construction inspection director, identified as M.B.G.<\/p>\n

Turkish media reports said the other suspects include municipal architect and urban planner M.C., businessman and former Ku\u015fadas\u0131 Sports Club president F.Z. and businessman H.K.<\/p>\n

The suspects are being investigated on allegations of bribery and \u201cextortion in office,\u201d although authorities have not disclosed further details about the accusations.<\/p>\n

G\u00fcnel\u2019s detention, which comes amid a legal crackdown targeting opposition-run municipalities that has been growing since the CHP\u2019s victories in the March 2024 local elections, attracted strong criticism from CHP officials.<\/p>\n

Mahmut Tanal, a CHP lawmaker from \u015eanl\u0131urfa, said the case reflected what he described as unequal application of the law in Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are now two different legal systems in Turkey,\u201d Tanal wrote on X. \u201cIf you are a CHP mayor, you are detained at dawn, investigations are opened and you are sent to jail. But if you join the Justice and Development Party [AKP], investigations into you end with non-prosecution or acquittal.\u201d<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye\u2019de art\u0131k iki ayr\u0131 hukuk uygulan\u0131yor.<\/p>\n

E\u011fer CHP\u2019li bir belediye ba\u015fkan\u0131ysan\u0131z
sabah\u0131n erken saatlerinde g\u00f6zalt\u0131na al\u0131n\u0131yor, soru\u015fturmalar a\u00e7\u0131l\u0131yor, cezaevine g\u00f6nderiliyorsunuz.<\/p>\n

Ama e\u011fer AKP\u2019ye ge\u00e7erseniz,
hakk\u0131n\u0131zdaki soru\u015fturmalar takipsizlikle veya beraatla\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Av.Mahmut TANAL (@MTanal) March 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Tanal also pointed to political developments in Ayd\u0131n province, where Mayor \u00d6zlem \u00c7er\u00e7io\u011flu left the CHP and\u00a0joined<\/a>\u00a0the ruling AKP in August 2025. He suggested that while investigations into municipalities aligned with the government are appearing to ease, opposition-run districts such as Ku\u015fadas\u0131 face legal action, arguing that different standards are being applied within the same province.<\/p>\n

Burhanettin Bulut, the CHP\u2019s vice chair responsible for media and public relations, also condemned the detention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will never bow to lawlessness, political operations or these interventions against democracy,\u201d Bulut was quoted by the ANKA news agency as saying.<\/p>\n

Growing pressure on opposition municipalities<\/p>\n

The detention of G\u00fcnel comes amid an intensifying legal crackdown on the CHP following its sweeping victory in the March 2024 local elections, when the party defeated President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s ruling AKP in many major cities.<\/p>\n

Since then prosecutors have launched a series of investigations targeting opposition mayors and municipal officials. Fifteen CHP mayors are currently in prison, most on corruption or terrorism-related charges that critics say are politically motivated. Courts have also invalidated CHP party congress results and replaced elected party officials with court-appointed administrators in multiple cities.<\/p>\n

The most prominent case involves \u0130stanbul Mayor Ekrem \u0130mamo\u011flu, who was detained on March 19, 2025, days before CHP members selected him as their presidential candidate for a future election. He faces charges including leading a criminal organization, embezzlement, bid-rigging, bribery and espionage in an indictment that prosecutors say documents a decade-long criminal enterprise within the \u0130stanbul Metropolitan Municipality.<\/p>\n

\u0130mamo\u011flu, who first won the \u0130stanbul mayoralty in 2019 after defeating Erdo\u011fan\u2019s party in a historic upset, is widely regarded as the opposition\u2019s strongest potential challenger to Erdo\u011fan in the presidential election scheduled for 2028.<\/p>\n

Opposition leaders say the legal cases are part of a broader strategy to weaken the CHP\u2019s local power base and pressure its officials to defect to the ruling party. Over 60 opposition mayors have switched allegiance to the AKP over the past two years, a trend critics attribute to political pressure and intimidation.<\/p>\n