The Republican Individuals’s Social gathering, Turkey’s primary opposition celebration, condemned the arrest as politically motivated, with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu calling it an try and sway public opinion.
The mayor of Beşiktaş, a key opposition stronghold in Istanbul, was arrested on Monday as a part of a bid-rigging investigation, in accordance with Istanbul prosecutors.
Rıza Akpolat, the mayor of the municipality on Istanbul’s European facet, was detained at his summer season residence in Edremit, on Turkey’s west coast, home media reported.
Beşiktaş, ruled by the principle opposition Republican Individuals’s Social gathering (CHP), is a serious leisure hub and residential to the favored soccer membership of the identical identify.
“A prison organisation … organised the tender processes by bribing mayors and senior municipal executives, making certain that their very own corporations have been awarded the tenders,” the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Workplace acknowledged.
CHP Chairman Özgür Özel condemned the arrest as “a brand new hyperlink within the chain of lawlessness within the politicised justice system” and pledged to help Akpolat.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu additionally criticised the transfer, calling it an try and sway public opinion.
“The process of those that do not need authorized intentions can’t be authorized,” he acknowledged.
The prosecutor’s workplace disclosed {that a} three-month investigation led to arrest warrants for 47 people, together with Akpolat and Ahmet Özer, the CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.
Özer has been in custody since October over alleged ties to the banned Kurdistan Staff’ Social gathering (PKK).
Authorities declare the bid-rigging scheme was orchestrated by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who, together with 24 different suspects, was detained on expenses together with forming and working a prison organisation, bribery, bid manipulation, tax legislation violations, and cash laundering.
Police put boundaries round Beşiktaş municipal workplaces through the search of Akpolat’s workplace and checked worker identification earlier than granting entry.
Elected as mayor in 2019 with practically 75% of the vote, Akpolat faces expenses of prison organisation membership, bid-rigging, bribery, and illicit property acquisition.
Because the opposition’s vital victories in Turkey’s 2019 native elections — which they efficiently defended in final yr’s polls — opposition municipal officers have confronted frequent arrests and dismissals.
Whereas pro-Kurdish celebration members have been the first targets as a consequence of alleged PKK hyperlinks.
Two co-mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Social gathering (DEM) have been remanded in custody on Monday pending trial on terrorism-related expenses.
Extra sources • AP
