Turkish authorities continue crackdown on the country’s opposition
Five elected mayors have been suspended by Turkish authorities as the crackdown on the country’s opposition continues.
According to AP News, the suspended mayors represent the districts of Avcilar, Büyükçekmece and Gaziosmanpaşa in Istanbul, as well as Seyhan and Ceyhan in the Mediterranean province of Adana.
The mayors were suspended on the 5th of June, with the Interior Ministry announcing their detention over claims of bribery and extortion.
A total of 11 mayors, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, have now been removed from office as part of investigations into CHP municipalities. Dozens of other officials have been imprisoned awaiting trial.
In a parallel development, prosecutors have launched an investigation into the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) following a speech on the 4th of June.
Ozgur Ozel criticised the Istanbul chief prosecutor for jailing mayors the previous day, which prompted the prosecutor’s office to investigate charges of “threatening a judicial officer” and “insulting a public official.”
Many critics argue that the arrests of CHP-controlled officials are politically motivated, designed to suppress opposition to the government. Imamoglu’s previous jailing sparked the largest protests in Turkey for more than a decade, with demonstrators denouncing judicial abuses and democratic backsliding under Erdogan.
Despite the widespread criticism, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government maintains that the courts remain impartial and free from political influence.
Imamoglu, viewed as the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election, represents a significant challenge to Erdogan’s two-decade rule. The party’s influence has been growing, with notable gains in cities like Istanbul in 2019 and further success in the 2024 municipal elections.
AP News/Maghrebi.org
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