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Turkish police detained the mayors of three southern cities early on Saturday as part of an investigation into alleged graft.
Among those detained were the mayors of southern city of Adana, Zeydan Karalar, the southern resort town of Antalya, Muhittin Böcek, and the southeastern city of Adıyaman, Abdurrahman Tutdere. All three mayors belong to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
In an early morning raid, police searched the premises of the city municipalities and detained two more suspects along with Böcek in Antalya.
The detentions are part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption based mainly on the confessions of Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, a businessman identified as the head of a criminal network active in municipalities.
Corruption allegations have spread across CHP-run municipalities since last year, leading to the detention and arrests of the party’s prominent names, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, a future presidential candidate of the party.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has labeled the scandals as “tentacles of an octopus” of wrongdoings. The party itself is at the center of allegations of vote-buying in a 2023 intra-party vote that brought its current chair, Özgür Özel, to power. A hearing earlier this week over election fraud allegations was postponed to September.
