Actor-turned-mayor in Ankara district detained over graft accusations

ANKARA

Actor-turned-politician and Ankara’s Etimesgut Mayor Erdal Beşikçioğlu was detained on July 30 as part of a corruption investigation, marking the latest operation targeting municipalities governed by the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 55 suspects, including senior municipal officials and executives of several companies. The Etimesgut Municipality is facing allegations, including bribery and bid rigging in public tenders.

Police carried out simultaneous early-morning raids at the municipal headquarters as well as the homes, workplaces and vehicles of the suspects named in the investigation.

Beşikçioğlu was elected mayor of Etimesgut in the March 2024 local elections on the CHP ticket, securing 56.6 percent of the vote.

His victory ended four consecutive terms of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) rule in one of Ankara’s largest metropolitan districts.

Before entering politics, Beşikçioğlu was one of Türkiye’s most acclaimed actors, with an extensive career spanning theater, television and film. He is best known for portraying the hard-boiled police chief in the hit crime series “Behzat Ç.”

His detention came just one day after Sinem Dedetaş, the mayor of Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, was taken into custody in a separate corruption investigation involving similar allegations.

The case is the latest in a series of investigations targeting CHP mayors over the past year, with several opposition municipal leaders, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, facing arrest, detention or trial.

While the CHP maintains that these actions are politically motivated efforts to suppress opposition, the government denies any political intent.