3 mayors in Mersin jailed pending trial on graft charges

MERSİN

(AA Photo)

A court early on Oct. 6 ordered Mersin Mayor Vahap Seçer and the mayors of two district municipalities jailed pending trial over corruption allegations, following an investigation into local government contracts.

The operation, launched on Oct. 1, targeted Mersin Municipality as well as the Yenişehir and Mezitli district municipalities in the southern province as part of a corruption investigation.

After nearly five days of judicial proceedings, the court ordered all three mayors, including Yenişehir Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer, jailed pending trial in the early hours of Oct. 6.

At least 10 of the 59 suspects detained in the operation were also jailed pending trials.

Seçer, who is also the head of the Union of Turkish Municipalities (TBB), was elected from the ranks of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as were Özyiğit and Tuncer.

The investigation alleged that public losses totaling around 331 million Turkish Liras ($6.75 million) were incurred in 13 tenders and 63 direct-procurement contracts at Mersin Municipality.

The alleged public loss was estimated at 1.01 billion liras at Mezitli Municipality and 105 million liras at Yenişehir Municipality.

The arrests come amid a broader series of investigations targeting mayors elected from opposition parties, which have intensified over the past year.

Several opposition mayors and senior municipal officials, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, have been jailed pending trial as part of the investigations.

In a separate operation on Oct. 6, authorities detained 46 suspects in a corruption investigation targeting the western province of İzmir’s Bayraklı Municipality. Among those detained was former Bayraklı Mayor Serdar Sandal.