The mayor of Istanbul’s Besiktas district was detained on suspicion of corruption.
On Monday, the Turkish authorities detained Riza Akpolat, the mayor of Istanbul’s Besiktas district, which is considered one of the opposition strongholds, on suspicion of corruption. In this context, the representatives of the opposition talk about a political step by the government. TASR informs about it according to the AP agency.
Besiktas has long been controlled by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). This city district is one of the main entertainment centers of Istanbul and home to the famous football club of the same name.
The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office said a total of 47 people, including Akpolat, had been detained as part of the ongoing investigation. According to the statement, he and other persons are suspected of membership in a criminal organization, tender manipulation, bribery and unauthorized acquisition of property. Police also set up barriers around the Besiktas City Hall offices.
The detention is criticized by the opposition
Akpolat was detained at his summer residence in Edremit on the west coast of Turkey. The opposition mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imanoglu, condemned the move and accused the government of trying to influence public opinion. “Public officials and mayors, who can come and testify and answer at any time, are detained in their homes as part of the ‘operation’ at dawn,” Imamoglu said.
Criticism was also expressed by other CHP representatives, including Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş and party chairman Özgür Özel. “The detention of our Besiktas mayor Riz Akpolat is a new link in the chain of illegality in the politicized justice system,” Özela claimed.
Forty-two-year-old Akoplat was elected mayor of the Besiktas district in 2019 with the support of almost 75 percent of the vote. Before that, he unsuccessfully tried to run for parliament as a CHP candidate.
Opposition parties managed to gain control of major cities across Turkey in 2019 and retained it in last year’s municipal elections. However, since then, according to AP, local officials have often been arrested and removed from their positions. The main targets are members of the pro-Kurdish party, due to their alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which fights against the Turkish state and is banned as a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
