On July 5, Turkish authorities arrested the mayors of three cities—Adana, Adıyaman, and Antalya—members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), according to Associated Press reports.
The detained officials are Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, and Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek. Turkish news agency Anadolu reports that the cases involving the mayors of Adana and Adıyaman are connected, while the mayor of Antalya faces separate charges. All three are suspected of corruption.
Burhanettin Bulut, chairman of the CHP, condemned the arrests on social media platform X, accusing the ruling authorities of weaponizing the judicial system for political revenge. “Those who use the judiciary as a tool for political retaliation care not for the law but for protecting their own power. We will never submit to this dirty system that strikes at the will of the people,” he declared.
Bulut also called on residents of Adana to join protests on the evening of July 5 against the detention of their mayor.
This crackdown follows the July 4 arrest of former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer and İzmir CHP Provincial Chair Şenol Aslanoğlu, who were also charged with corruption-related offenses.
Earlier in March, Ekrem İmamoğlu, the popular Istanbul Mayor and leading challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was detained on similar charges. İmamoğlu’s arrest triggered massive protests across Turkey, the largest the country has seen in years. Despite the detention, the CHP held primary elections naming İmamoğlu their presidential candidate for the upcoming elections.
The recent wave of detentions against key opposition figures has escalated political tensions in Turkey, raising concerns about the use of legal mechanisms to suppress dissent ahead of critical elections.
