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Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of the southeastern province of Adıyaman, who was detained last month on corruption charges, was reinstated to his post, the Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Tutdere was suspended from office on July 10 after he was ordered into house arrest following a corruption investigation.
The same investigation has led to detentions of Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek and Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar. All three men are from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which is entangled with a series of corruption probes. The CHP’s Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was arrested in March on graft charges.
The CHP is under mounting scrutiny as a wave of corruption, bribery and terrorism-related investigations sweeps across its municipalities.
Since late 2024, more than 500 people, including some 15 sitting mayors, have been detained in police operations. Over 200 have been formally arrested, while dozens benefited from the legal provision of “effective remorse” in exchange for cooperation with prosecutors.
Authorities say more than 10 major investigations are underway into municipalities controlled by the main opposition CHP, covering allegations from large-scale tender rigging and bribery to financing terrorist organizations.
The most extensive probe targets the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). Prosecutors allege a network, headed by senior municipal officials, that rigged numerous public contracts. Imamoğlu and his aides deny all charges.
Linked to these allegations is the case of businessperson Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, accused of heading a criminal network that allegedly bribed mayors and senior officials to secure lucrative tenders. Aktaş, initially arrested, was later released after cooperating with authorities under “adequate remorse” provisions.
Two separate investigations in Istanbul focus on alleged links between CHP district municipalities and the PKK terrorist organization. Police operations earlier this year targeted nine CHP-run districts, leading to the arrests of deputy mayors and council members. Prosecutors claim certain local initiatives were used to bolster PKK influence in major cities.
In another high-profile case, dismissed Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer faces trial on charges of PKK membership, while former Sarıyer Mayor Şükrü Genç is accused of financing the DHKP-C terrorist group through municipal channels.
The corruption allegations extend far beyond Türkiye’s largest city, though several of the most prominent cases are centered in Istanbul.
In Istanbul’s European districts, Beşiktaş and Büyükçekmece, officials are accused of bribery, irregular contracting and abuse of office. In the Anatolian districts of Beykoz and Şile, the mayors were arrested on charges of tender rigging, extortion and involvement in organized crime, while Kartal’s mayor and several municipal officials allegedly rented out public properties in violation of the law.
In western Izmir province, the CHP municipality is facing two separate probes: one targeting irregularities in construction projects and another focusing on corruption in a municipal subsidiary, which has already led to the arrest of former Mayor Tunç Soyer.
