Turkey issues arrest warrants for 22 in Istanbul municipality corruption probe

Published connected 20/05/2025 - 11:42 GMT+2•Updated 11:45

Turkish authorities person issued apprehension warrants for 22 group connected Tuesday arsenic portion of a deepening crackdown against nan Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) complete alleged corruption.

The improvement comes 2 months aft Ekrem İmamoğlu, nan city's politician and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's biggest governmental rival, was arrested pending proceedings for alleged corruption.

İmamoğlu has denied immoderate wrongdoing.

Shortly aft his apprehension on pinch astir 100 others, Turkish constabulary detained much than 50 group successful precocious April connected suspicion of charges including bribery and "establishing, managing and being a personnel of an organisation pinch nan purpose of committing a crime".

Some of those arrested successful April were IBB employees, including nan municipality's Bosphorus Zoning Manager Elçin Karaoğlu.

In nan latest activity of nan ineligible crackdown, apprehension warrants were issued connected Tuesday greeting for 22 people. IBB Press, Publications and Public Relations Department Head Taner Çetin was among them.

The guidance Republican People's Party (CHP), to which İmamoğlu belongs, deed retired astatine nan development.

CHP Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır said nan authorities were targeting heads of departments astatine nan IBB and sending them to situation arsenic portion of a broader strategy.

"There is simply a strategy whose sole purpose is to forestall nan Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from working," he said.

Erdoğan has implied that further grounds will aboveground successful nan ongoing investigation, saying, "This is nan logic for their panic."

What happened successful March?

İmamoğlu was detained connected 18 March and was formally arrested connected 23 March.

The full process came soon earlier he was owed to beryllium nominated arsenic nan CHP's statesmanlike candidate.

İmamoğlu was announced arsenic nan CHP's statesmanlike campaigner pinch astir 15 cardinal statement votes connected nan aforesaid time arsenic his arrest. He was past suspended from his station arsenic politician by nan Ministry of Interior.

Afterwards, Nuri Aslan, a CHP personnel of nan municipal council, was elected arsenic nan acting lawman politician of Istanbul alternatively of İmamoğlu.

The wide protests triggered by İmamoğlu's apprehension turned into nan largest demonstrations successful respective awesome cities crossed nan country, including Istanbul, successful much than a decade.

Police responded to nan protests pinch capsicum spray, tear state and h2o cannons.