Fresh operations hit main opposition-run district in Ankara

ANKARA

In the latest crackdown on municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the mayor of Ankara’s Çankaya district was detained on July 11 alongside 35 senior officials on graft accusations.

Some 27 people were detained in early-morning raids in Çankaya, out of a total of 36 named in a warrant issued by Ankara’s public prosecutor, media reports said.

The warrant reportedly cited accusations of forming or belonging to a criminal organization, bribery and tender rigging.

Among those named in the warrant was Çankaya Mayor Hüseyin Can Güner.

Speaking while out of town when the operation was launched, Güner said, “I will be in Ankara within a few hours. I want all our residents to know that we have not engaged in the slightest conduct that would betray the trust of those who placed their confidence in us.”

Later in the evening, authorities announced that Güner was detained upon arriving at the airport.

Çankaya Municipality Deputy Mayor Anıl Çetin said that the municipality’s legal department was excluded from the search process and added that officials were not provided with copies of the seized digital materials.

Hundreds of CHP officials have been arrested as part of ongoing investigations into alleged corruption, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

On July 8, İmamoğlu was removed from the courtroom during a heated hearing on July 8 in the corruption trial.

İmamoğlu, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was expelled from the hearing after the presiding judge accused him of disrupting courtroom order and discipline, media reported.