The Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of the eastern city of Adıyaman who was removed from his post last month as part of an ongoing crackdown on his party, has been reinstated.
Tutdere, a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was removed from office on July 10 after being put under house arrest in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged criminal organization.
He was among hundreds of CHP politicians targeted in a sweeping crackdown that has so far led to the arrest or suspension of 17 CHP mayors, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, over a period of nearly one year. In addition dozens of other party officials have been arrested on charges seen widely as politically motivated.
According a statement from the Interior Ministry on X on Tuesday, Tutdere’s return to office was made possible after the İstanbul 6th Criminal Court of Peace lifted the judicial supervision measures against him on July 25.
ADIYAMAN BELEDİYE BAŞKANININ İÇİŞLERİ BAKANLIĞINCA
GÖREVE İADESİNE İLİŞKİN BASIN AÇIKLAMASI: pic.twitter.com/J1lyJwuMZc— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) August 5, 2025
The mayor was first detained on July 5 as part of a broader investigation by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office connected to Aziz İhsan Aktaş, a businessman who was previously detained in the same probe and later released after cooperating with authorities under the “effective remorse” clause of Turkish criminal law.
Tutdere was later released under judicial supervision, which included house arrest and electronic monitoring, and was subsequently suspended from office.
The court lifted the house arrest order on July 25 but upheld a travel ban preventing him from leaving the country. Following this change, the ministry reinstated him to his mayoral duties.
Tutdere was elected mayor of Adıyaman in the March 31, 2024 local elections with 49.74 percent of the vote, marking the first time after nearly five decades that the CHP won elections in the province.
Adıyaman had been run by mayors from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) since 2004.
The crackdown on the CHP has intensified since the arrest of İmamoğlu, who is his party’s presidential candidate for the next election and the most powerful rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Critics say the sweeping probes are aimed at weakening the opposition and consolidating power ahead of a potential snap election.