Turkey: several opposition members arrested in Istanbul

44 people were arrested on August 15th by Turkish police in Istanbul, according to The New Arab via Reuters. This included the mayor of the central district of Beyoglu, Inan Güney, and several of his close advisers.

The set of arrests is the latest to occur, and a part of a months-long crackdown targeting the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The arrests are over alleged corruption.

Turkey has been experiencing several protests on a scale that has not been seen in over a decade. This follows the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in March, who is considered to be the biggest political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Due to Imamoglu’s arrest, over 1,000 people were also arrested, due to their participation in anti-government protests. Public protests were banned after Imamoglu’s arrest, however this didn’t prevent several thousands from flooding the streets of Turkey to protest against Erdogan.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel wrote on X on August 15th, saying that “in 149 days, the judiciary has not managed to produce an indictment,” adding that this is because, “they only have slanderous accusations like ‘I heard that.’”

Ozel described the wave of arrests as “vengeance which aims to cover up the damage caused (to the country) by the AKP gang” of Erdogan. Erdogan has been in power since 2022. According to the Turkish constitution, he cannot run again in 2028.

Aside from the high-status arrests of Imamoglu and Güney, nine out of 26 of Istanbul’s CHP district mayors have been arrested and imprisoned since October 2024. This is primarily on corruption charges, which have been denied. CHP mayors from several other cities have also been arrested.

According to analysts, the government is attempting to undermine the CHP. The CHP emerged as the clear winner in local elections in the spring of 2024. This was at the expense of Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party.

The New Arab via Reuters, Maghrebi.org