 in a corruption investigation, the latest operation targeting an opposition-run municipality, the Anka news agency reported.){kind=link}
Turkish police on Monday detained the mayor of İzmit, her husband and a local official from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in a corruption investigation, the latest operation targeting an opposition-run municipality, the Anka news agency reported.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 31 people, including İzmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, her husband, Murat Hürriyet, and CHP İzmit district chairman Gökhan Ercan.
Police searched the mayor’s home and the municipal headquarters in İzmit, the capital of the northwestern province of Kocaeli, early Monday. Simultaneous operations were conducted in Kocaeli, İstanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Kırıkkale provinces.
The suspects face allegations of establishing a criminal organization, bribery and bid rigging.
The prosecutor’s office said the investigation was based on statements from suspects, testimony from people seeking reduced sentences under Turkey’s “effective remorse” provisions and accounts from secret witnesses.
Prosecutors alleged that irregularities had been identified in several municipal tenders, that some companies awarded contracts had family ties to municipal officials and that businesses working with the municipality had been required to make improper payments described as commissions.
They also alleged that Murat Hürriyet was directly involved in municipal tenders, recruitment and decisions concerning staff positions despite holding no elected municipal office.
As she was taken into custody, Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet told reporters that her conscience was clear and that she had nothing to fear.
She had been re-elected in March 2024 with 49.06 percent of the vote, defeating the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) candidate, who received 38.9 percent.
It was not immediately clear how many of the 31 people sought by prosecutors had been detained. Initial reports said 28 suspects were in custody.
The investigation is part of an expanding series of corruption and terrorism-related cases targeting CHP-run municipalities since the party made significant gains in the March 2024 local elections, finishing ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the first time in decades.
The operations began in October 2024 with the arrest and removal from office of Ahmet Özer, the CHP mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district, on terrorism-related charges.
They intensified following the March 2025 arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s most prominent political rival and the CHP’s presidential candidate. İmamoğlu denies the corruption and other criminal allegations against him and says the cases are intended to remove him from politics.
At least 39 CHP-run municipalities have been targeted since the 2024 elections, with 26 incumbent mayors, including İmamoğlu, behind bars. Most of the investigations concern allegations of bribery, bid rigging, abuse of office or organized crime.
Some elected mayors have been suspended, while government-appointed trustees have taken control of several municipalities.
The CHP and rights groups describe the investigations as a politically motivated campaign aimed at reversing the opposition’s local election gains and eliminating potential challengers to Erdoğan.
The government denies allegations of political interference and claims Turkey’s judiciary operates independently.